WEEK 6: "Oh yeah.. You're allergic to the sun"

This week in the land of Jebres, I found out that-

1) My skin does not do well here and I have broken out in heat rashes for the last month. Thanks to some handy dandy cream and some antibiotics, they have finally, ALAS, vanished, and now my skin is back to being irritated and itchy free. All this was due to an allergic reaction to the sun, according to the doctor in the apotik. He recommended me to wear a jacket (what's new) so I don't get any darker too HAHA

2) Martabak manis will change your life forever!!! I have never eaten something so delicious and so heavenly.  ENAK BANGIT 

3) SEPATU RODA (roller blades!!)The kids here know what's up and they blade the streets of Indonesia!! Hahaha, almost every street I go on, there is a group of kids just full on blade brigade. I would say it's a tender mercy ;) 

4)ok another tender mercy tho- ES KELAPA aka coconut drinks here are straight up the real thing. I had 4 in the last 2 days, and I am going to be drinking some more today. You know it baby!! I always thought coconut water was good, but here they are a dream :,) there's a coconut water man in front of the church, and I believe that before we enter the gates of heaven, the angels there will give us es kelapa as we stand in line ;) 

5) TRANSFERS and I am still in Jebres and yay, i really do love it here.

funny: We met a really nice old man, who gladly let us in and let us teach him. After the lesson, he put some oil on his hand and slapped our foreheads. I was so shocked and confused. He then adopted us as his cucus (his grandkids). It was possibly the funniest thing, but hey, now I have a godfather here!!

simpatisan: We met some Catholic Buddhists, two sisters, older, who still have a solid testimony of Christ, and are now practicing Buddhism. As we were getting to know them, they straight up said that they are looking for happiness, and peace, that is lasting and real. We were like OK YA LEMME TELL YA BOUT THE GOSPEL THO- and we were soo excited to teach them about the Book of Mormon, and the Plan of Salvation. It was so great and I am excited to watch them grow and learn in this gospel :)

With all fun and games aside, General Conference was so amazing and I am so so so thankful for this gospel. The overall theme that I picked up was Rencana Keselamatan aka Plan of Salvation. The Plan of Happiness!! Words can't describe my gratitude for the knowledge that God is our loving Heavenly father who wants us to return to Him and He has provided a way! Happiness comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ and I can testify that all my sources of true joy come from this gospel. I can truly say that the reason why I smile is because of this gospel, because of the knowledge that we can live with Him again, with our God, our families, forever, in eternal happiness :) Mosiah 2:41!!! 

anywho i love you and i pray for you every night!

dengan kasih,

Sister Ratunuman :)

because i miss sister nuku and love her!!

sister sri and her nasi goreng!! so yum

always comparing skin colors ;)

kitab mormon!!

 distrik!

THE REAL BLADE BRIGADE haha MY HEART <4

es kelapa 

 indo

biggest spider ive ever seen in my life.. i have never been so petrified hahaha. its squished here, but i swear it was almost the size of my hand

 ibu hyde!

WEEK 5: Long live HITAM MANIS

How goes it my lovely family and friends?!!

Every day is a blessing to be here in Indonesia. I do not think I can ever actually put into words how much I love this country and the people here. The people are so so amazing, truly, I have felt so much love for them and serving here has made me feel just a snippet of our Heavenly Father's incredible amount of love for each of His children.

 My love for the gospel is deepened everyday- the little things COUNT!! BY small and simple things are great things come to pass!! I have never experienced such power through reading my scriptures and pouring my heart out to Heavenly Father. I have literally felt His love so strongly!! With that comes a deeper love for our Savior Jesus Christ. I have a testimony that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it will bring you to really know our Savior. If you don't know Him yet, please, GO AND SEEK HIM!! And of course, being in this lovely country has increased my love and appreciation for my parents, Meidy and Merchi Ratunuman <3 <3 <3

Sooooo many things remind me of you! Literally, I have a list of things in my journal called "Growing Up with Indonesian Parents" HAHAH from eating with our hands, taking our shoes off, certain slang words, certain foods like bakso, sate, mie goreng, yakult, etc., feeding people always hahah I just love it sooo much. One of my favorites- Mom and Dad called me Hitam Manis ALWAYS growing up/to this day. And now I come here, and everyone calls me that. Biking down the street, at church, with strangers, everywhere hahaha. (Hitam manis means like black and sweet and attractive, I agree with the black part, not sure about the other parts HA) but hitam manis taken literally tho, mosquitos will not give up on this piece of dark chocolate and if anyone has advice on how to prevent/treat mosquito bites PLZ SEND!! BUT OTHER THAN MOSQUITOES HAHA I LOVE EVERYTHING HERE! I JUST LOVE INDONESIA THIS PLACE IS SERIOUSLY AMAZING

Mom and Dad, thank you so much for all that you have done for our family. I really do love you so much. Every blessing I have experienced in my life comes from Heavenly Father, who blessed me with my parents, who were born and raised in this beautiful country, moved to America, and raised our family there. To be submerged in your country, and your culture, really has been amazing and has strengthened my sincere respect and love for you. So thank you so much, I love you so much! I know God's Plan is perfect, He needed you to go to America so we can find the gospel. And for that very same reason, I am here serving in Indonesia, to find those- such as us, who were seeking the gospel. The joy from this gospel of Jesus Christ is beyond my comprehension and I am just so thankful for it. 

MISSIONARY WORK IS SO GREAT! There is nothing I would rather be doing. Saya tahu bahwa injil ini dipulihkan dan juga bahwa Yesus kristus selalu berada untuk kita. Saya sangat bersyukur bahwa kita bisa hidup dengan keluarga kita selamnya melalui injil ini :) there is only one way to happiness, and that is through the gospel of Jesus Christ! 

I seriously love you so much!

dengan kasih, your hitam manis,

Sister Ratunuman 

INSERTED ARE SOME DOPE PIXS ENJOIIII FAMMMM ;) 

some cuties on the street:)

HAHA in n out, its like i never left home :)

 keeping away from the sun am i right??

my cute district

 sweet sites!