Week 11- FAM N FRIENDS💃

Hello!! This is Sister Ratunuman, reporting to you LIVE! This will be my last email in the US of A, and the next time I email I will be in the motherland of INDONESIA! This week will be nuts. Saying goodbyes to everyone, temple trip with President Allred, packing, and heading back up to Logan on Sunday, and leaving Indo on Monday the 27th! STOKED OUTTA MY MIND IT'S UNREALLL

Ye olde Pleasant View is real great. Missionary work is different here.. a lot of work with less actives, and a lot of finding. Even though we are in Utah, there is soo much work to be done. The people are wonderful, the dogs are great, the sun is shining, sunsets are stellar.

So this next week I will be soaking up my last..

- real shower in a real bathroom

- real toilets 

- toilet paper

- slice of pizza 

- cafe Rio run 

- nice apartment 

- admiration of gingers (idk if theres gingers in indo???) :/ 

- days being a minority.. I'm ready to be a part of the brown people majority lol 

And can I just say that I have been so blessed to have this opportunity to serve here!? It has been an amazing opportunity. I have met people that have impacted my experience here for the better, and I am beyond excited to come back up to Pleasant View after the mission and visit the people here. I've learned so much here, and lately, I've really felt so strongly that this is a part of God's Plan. There are times when I'm knocking on doors and talking to the people here, or teaching a lesson, or sitting in church, and I get the warmest reassurance of peace, comfort, and of God's love, that this is what He needs me to be doing and where I need to be. 

V-Day was probably the best V-Day I've ever had hahahah. It was so filled with joy!! Rekan saya and I exchanged gifts. She got me a cute Lil pug, and she is my soul sister. Beyond thankful I get to have her as my comp at the Mtc, for her to be in Logan Utah, and soon Indo:) 

We had a ton of roses, and notes for our recent converts, potentials, investigators, less actives, members that have supported us, and widows. Visiting each person and giving them a rose and a little note on V day was really filled with lots of love. I loved seeing everyone and I loved watching their faces light up. This was also good because we would see people on the sidewalks and hand roses out with our pass along cards!! Missionary work is a joy I'm tellin ya! 

I had exchanges with my sister training leader, Sister Lowe this week! She's my friend from BYU and we were SO happy when we found out we were serving together here. She is the greatest. This day was by far my favorite day out of my whole experience here for a lot of reasons. We met really amazing people, encountered a very peculiar person, taught a great lesson, and overall, I've never laughed, smiled, happy cried so much that day with Sister Lowe!

1- one wonderful person we met- Grandpa Lundwall. Biggest heart, filled with kindness. Shared his story with us, and how he takes care of his wife who had a stroke, and he calls himself the happiest man alive because he gets to take care of his wife. We shared a message, and he helped us out with the area. He made us cry because he was so sweet and sincere!! Old people are the best:") he gave us these huge grandpa sweaters so we wouldn't be cold and a book that he wrote about prayer. He was our angel that day!

2- a very peculiar person we encountered door contacting.. here's our convo:

(After getting to know Him, we asked him about his beliefs of God and Christ) 

Him: I only believe in science. A higher power maybe.. but not God. Do YOU believe in aliens? Do YOU know what's happening this Oct/Nov???

Me: Well, I do know that my birthday is on October 23rd

Him: No. Not that. The great calypso is happening. Meteor showers. Destroying all of mankind. It says it in the Bible.

Us: Oh, wow.. no way.. where does it say it in there??

Him: Oh, it says it some verses. Not sure. Just look it up on YouTube. 

Then he puts on his crazy eyes and says- It's called Planet X Nebaru. Just get on a computer. Look it up. Don't tell anyone you looked it up. But I need you guys to warn everyone you teach today about Planet X... then he slowly shuts the door....

Us- ok! Have a wonderful day!!! 

Hahahahhaa. We walked away and could not stop laughing. It was nuts. And no, we did not look up planet X HAHA 

 Little boy we met- "My grandparents are very religious. They don't dab like we do."

Us- "Well we are very religious, and we know how to dab.."

Him- "Oh no! Don't dab! Dabbing is of the devil!!!" hahahhahaH

I love being a missionary! It has already been the greatest adventure filled with wonderful people and hilarious moments and the happiest and lowest times. We are working so hard to find more people here, and I have complete faith that Heavenly Father has His children prepared to hear the gospel.. but whether they are members already (which is the case a lot here) and aren't active or are, we as missionaries are to help everyone to come closer to Christ- through service or lessons or being there for them, most importantly loving them!! I really am trying my very very best and working as hard as I can!

A lot of times I can get discouraged, and I can be dissapointed, because I'm having a hard time with my comp and the sweet people we had on date for baptism are now not keeping up with committments aka delaying and potentially cancelling their baptism now, but what more comfort is there in knowing that missionary work is God's work. That we are His instruments! Called of God to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that at anytime and any place, we can get on our knees and pray... and let me tell ya, God really does listen to our sincere, and heartfelt prayer of help and strength and comfort.

"There really is light at the end of the tunnel. That light comes from the Son of God." - Jeffrey R Holland 

Never forget that your sister here loves you so much! 

Dengan kasih,

Sister Ratunuman 

rekan saya dan saya! Happy V day!!

 Kayla:")

the hales!! My uke fam

bye PV love you!! Ft. My only talent aka my double jointed arm

SISTA LOWE 

Grandpa Lundwall!! 

doge

pink skies:") 

 sun + mail = joy!

a RM malay sister that speaks bahasa too:) 

snuggle buds 

Week 10: KASIH ❤

To my happy folks that know this song from the Parent trap..
L... is for the way you look at me
O... is for the only one I see
V... is very very, extraordinary
E... is (sorry I always forget this line, lol email me if you know what it is) 
And love.. is made for you annnndddddddd meeeeeeeeeee

You got it ladies and gents. It's the month of love, am I right?? In the words of Buddy the Elf- IM IN LOVE, IM IN LOVE, AND I DONT CARE WHO KNOWS IT!! Haps Febs/happy V day! I love you, I hope you know that. I hope your V day is showered with plenty of Dove chocolates and rom coms ; If you multiply my love for pugs and sushi by 5 billion, that's how much I love ya. Most importantly, never forget how much Jesus Christ loves you!

Utah update- I reallllllllyyyyy love the people here. A lot. I am so grateful to be on a mission 1- because of all the doggies I get to meet here 2- being able to bear my testimony of Jesus Christ at all times and all places 3- the people!! Seriously, I love them. It has been such a good week, and we have been meeting a lot of new people, and potentials to teach! 

And you know this place is actually pretty neat when it's a bluebird day, with the mountains and all. Takes my breath away!! I feel like I'm just cruisin through a real life version of the Arrowhead Water bottle wrapper. Freakin sweet!

Anywho- love is a four lettered word, and so is.. VISA!!!!!!
I think I jumped to the most exciting part of my week too soon, so hold that thought, I will explain LOL (how cool is this, my tablet has funny Lil emojis hajahaj)

We had Mission conference this last Wednesday and it was seriously so wonderful. President Allred told Sis Nuku (rekan saya) and I that our visas are ready. He told us that we will leave before the transfer ends, so around the 26th. We got a solid two weeks here, which I am pretty excited about. It was pretty funny though because one of the mission office couples emailed us and asked us to return out tablets before we leave and said 'congrats on your visa status! We are so excited for you!' before we even heard about our visas from President Allred hahaha. And President Allred is good friends with our indo mission president, President Rowley!!! Such a small world aka the Mormon world is very very small hahaha.

I truly feel so thankful to have this experience here, and to go to Indonesia too. I know that Logan Utah is exactly where I needed to be in the last 4 weeks, and that Indonesia is where He will send me soon! No matter where you serve- you have one and the same purpose as a missionary: to help others to come unto Christ. But man, I am PUMPED OUTTA MY MIND HAPPY TEARS HAPPY DANCE WOO

One experience I wanted to share with ya- we had exchanges this week. So for the day, I served in Huntsville with Sister Schell, instead of being in Pleasant view with Sister Broyles. Huntsville is on the other side of the mountain, so it was a freakin sweet experience!!

We taught a lesson at a rehabilitation center called Valleycamp and it was incredible. At Valleycamp, there are about 11 males from 20-40 years old, seeking and striving to recover from serious addictions from drugs, alcohol, etc. We taught the first step of the 12 recovery steps, which is honesty. So we are sitting in a circle, and there's us sister missionaries and a couple teaching, and these grown men just pouring their hearts out. The spirit was so strong and I literally felt Heavenly Father's love for each of them. I felt the power of the Atonement working through everyone of them as they talked about their experiences and how they have seen God in their life, and how because they were honest with themselves, and with God, they were able to start their road to recovery. One man said something I will never forget- "Because of His grace and His mercy, He can change me from the man I've been, to the man He knows I can become."

I know that because of Him- because of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, we can truly receive a remission of our sins. We can become new beings through the power of repentance and His Atonement. We can have that change of heart, a change of character, and a change of life- if we truly seek Him and have that desire to turn our life over to God and His Son, Jesus Christ. I love my Savior so much! I know He lives. I know He loves each of us.

 ' A child once asked Jesus Christ, "How much do you love me?" And Jesus responded with, "This much." And stretched out His arms on the cross and died for me. '
Saya kasih anda!!! Banyak!!!

Dengan kasih, Sister Ratunuman

Ps- nice man gave me a jar of fresh peaches so yum, met a real chubby dog, met a dog that followed us from door to door hahaha, met a man that knows bahasa aka Indonesian  (he was white too!!! He lived there for a couple years for martial arts, wicked sweet), finally stopped snowing (thank u, my toes are now warm)

 yo these mountains tho 

the Allens, cutest couple- they are elderly goals- that went to Valleycamp with us :)

my new comp ;)

another day, another smoothie(jk that's peaches) /if it ain't up, you ain't fancy enough 

happy bluebird skies

Lil chubbs

 Lil chubbs pt 2 

Lil chubbs pt 3 hahaha

Sis Broyles and I 

the sisters of the Logan Utah mission

Only brown girls in the zone hash tag bless the freak up

 my valentine rekan saya 

sweetest child drew me a pic :'')

HAHAHAH I MET A YAK DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE

 

Week 9: 30 DEGREES hash tag bless the freak up !!!

Another week in Pleasant view Utah, another new last name(s)!! Am I right or what?? Hahahaha. I also have learned that my eyes have their own bladders!! My heart tends to explode and so do my tear ducts hahahajajahaj hati saya !!

This week on Episode 9 of mission life of Sister Ratunuman..

Sister Ratunuman is now, according to some: 

1- Sister Raw tuna fish- name created by: beloved senior couple, Elder & Sister Richie, because they do not know how to pronounce Ratunuman of course

2- Sister Kristus...- name created by: Brother Nichols, because he forgot my last name, knew it was difficult, and read the 'Yesus Kristus' aka Indonesian part on my name tag hahahah 

3- Sister Ratta Fanta- name created by: my 5 year old bff, Lizzy, who loves Jesus Christ, mandarin oranges, and dogs as much as I do ;) 

Of course I don't mind any of this. I absolutely adore it when people call me something new. Just another one to add to the list and share with you all haha;) 

Funny story of the week:  we have the cutest, funniest, investigator- he's 11 and his last prayer after our lesson with him was: dear God, I would like to thank you for sending me the missionaries. For English muffins. For my dog Pheobe. And happy Yoshi day, God. Tell everyone in heaven to become a Yoshi and hug everyone for me please. Thank you for all blessings! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!! Hahaha, sweetest kid. 

Update: 

After 3 weeks in the southern portion of Pleasant view, our mission president has moved us up to another portion of the city. Which means, new wards and a new building that we are in charge of! We still get to teach those from our old wards on baptisimal date which is great. Also a bit sad because we had to say goodbye to those we finished lessons with. I'm actually pretty excited about this change. I know that this is where God needs us to be and there are people to teach in this new part of town! 

Tender mercies/happy tears moments: 

- rosa and the cooks are making so much progress. They are still on date for the 18th! They continue to follow Christ and I always feel the Spirit so strongly as we meet and discuss gospel principles. 

- 30 degrees, sun out, beautiful blue skies, and snow. Warm enough to wear my wind breaker ooooo yeah baby miracles. I love you sunshine!!!

- for language study, Sister Nuku and I get to Skype our MTC teacher, brother rawle, for an hour once a week! It's such a blast and it's always so comforting to study bahasa everyday and continue to feel the Spirit 

- the new wards we are serving in!! The people are incredible!!

- met a family in the ward that found out we shared a common love for the guitar and ukulele.. and they continued to whip out 6 ukes!! We all got to sing and jam together, it was such a happy moment.

- I met a senior couple and a sister that served in malaysia!! They're in my new ward!! It was so exciting because we got to speak bahasa together and I cried so many tears of joy because geez whizzz I miss the language and it was SOO nice to finally meet someone, in utah (what are the odds) that speaks it. 

Attention to those who scroll down to the bottom of all missionary emails to just look at the pictures (you know who you are!!!) Please read this my friend: Me + more = Christ. This is the perfect lie that Satan draws all of us in. We think that if we do more, then we will be perfect as Christ is. If I pray more, read my scriptures more, go to church more, etc. Then I will be perfect as Christ.. that is the wrong equation!! The right equation is: me + christ = more. If I apply Christ into my life, then I will be more, because we really can't do life without Him. I really love my Savior Jesus Christ. If you don't know Him yet, please, get to know Him, dive into the scriptures, study His ministry, and His teachings.

"When we put Christ in His proper place, when we come to Him and get to know Him, there is nothing that He can’t equal us to. With Christ, we can be kinder. With Christ, we will feel loved. With Christ, we will always have a friend. With Christ, we will be happy.

For with Christ we are enough. We are powerful. We are more." 

https://www.lds.org/blog/the-perfect-lie?lang=eng (read!!!) 

Sweet fam and friends, this gospel is true. Jesus Christ is our Friend, Brother, our Savior, and Redeemer. Please seek for any chance you have to share your testimony of Christ with a family member, co worker, social media, etc.!! Missionary work is God's work and as we are instruments in His hands, He will always provide a way for us to share the gospel, if we seek it. 

So much peace and so many blessings!!

Saya mengasihi anda!! 

Dengan kasih, your blading brown sista,

Sister Ratunuman 

rekan saya & I found a piece of Indo in utah can't wait for real mi goreng 

5 year old bff Lizzy

PV baby!

 my uke fam I found here!! Shout out to the OG uke fam, you know who you are:) 

thank you warmer weather 

my new pals 

hello mtv, welcome to my crib 

last lesson with Kayla:( such a sweet girl

Skype dengan brother Rawle untuk belajar bahasa indonesia!

And a link to my photos and vids !! 

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B4l7LpvnUKqzVUtuYjN6d3NZcjA