Sister Vanessa Ratunuman : 18 Cabes and Counting 3 September 2017

Hey hey WHATS UP!

Inilah Sis Ratu, reporting to you live in Malang. Last week I forgot to report the fact that I gladly achieved my goal of 18 cabes (chile peppers) in my Mie Setan. I couldn’t feel my lips/tongue after. :-) And after 3 months here, I am pretty sure I am now a shade lighter in Malang than when I was in Solo. Dad, you would be proud! LOL you know how Dad is always like “vinny you are too dark, you can’t go to the beach anymore, or go outside anymore, your skin does not look pretty” well it’s not just Dad, it’s Indonesian people in general hahahaha. People love light skin here and they’re always like “SISTER WEAR A JACKET YOURE GOING TO GET SO BLACK!” Ya wis!! #darkchocolate #browngirlprobs #somethingsneverchange

ANYWHOOOOO… :) THIS WEEK,

1- Hari Raya! A huge holiday of the wonderful Muslim people here. All week long before Friday, there were goats and cows to the left and right, prepping for the sacrifices. Those who have enough money will buy a goat or cow (wayy expensive), kill it, and cut the meat up to share with those who are poor, or cannot afford to eat meat, or simply with their neighbors. It’s way legit and people are filled with love to the brim here. It is clearly shown as they are unceasingly wanting to share food with every person they meet :”) seriously! And not to get into too much depth on the sacrifices.. lets just say there was a goat just a couple of doors down..

2- One of my favorite things about Indonesia is how everyone and everything is alll about food. For reals- we will walk into a house and this is how it usually goes:

ibu- “Have you eaten??”

us- “yes”

ibu- “Oh no you haven’t!”

us- “Yes, we really have. We are stuffed.”

ibu- “Oh ok, hold on, let me grab some rice, and chicken, and snacks, for you.”

HAHA. I love it. One essential life long lesson I have learned here is that when I become a mother, I will stuff the stomachs of my guests as much as the people of Indonesia do. As in follow the example of my parents cuz that’s exactly what they do too hahaha.

3- And yg paling penting- MUKJIZAT!! Hahaha OKOKOK. PAK YOHANES JOKO AND IBU SRI. They are angels and my favorite 62 year olds who are so so semangat (excited) about the Kitab Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. These are the people that sell right next to Sis Yandel, and Pak actually came up to us and asked for a Book of Mormon, since he always saw us reading it with Yandel. (You never know whos watching!!)

Well fast forward to earlier this week- he is asking us so sincerely to pray for him and his wife so they can go to church this week cuz lately something has always come up..

And on Sunday morning at 8 am, we got a call from him, and they were already waiting for us near the church!! Oh, it was soo happy to see them all cute and dressed up in church clothes with their huge smiles.

AND it doesn’t stop there.. it’s fast and testimony meeting, and right at the end, Pak gets up and bears his testimony. He is SO LEGIT and the bravest, most in tune with the Spirit man that I have met in Indo. He never fails to makes me laugh too, HAHA funniest man ever, and I really have never met anyone so excited about the church and the Book of Mormon. It is a testimony builder to me that this is the true church on the Earth. That the Book of Mormon is the word of God and with the Bible and Book of Mormon, we have the FULLNESS of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We SHOULD be so stoked about this- like Pak Yohanes is!! Because this is the truth, and this is what God wants for us as His children. I know that this Gospel is true, and testifying of the Savior everyday on my mission has helped me realize that I will never stop testifying of the Savior for the rest of my life. There is much happiness and joy for each of us to find, a kind that is everlasting, and I testify that it is and only is through this church, through the restored gospel, through our loving Heavenly Father, and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

In the wise words of Sis Yandel,

Ayo kerja buat Tuhan, selalu manis ayy!

<3 don’t forget that your brown sister in Indo is loving and praying for you!

I love you tons keluarga dan teman yg terkasih!

Dengan segenap hatiku,

Sis Ratu J

Quotes:

“God notices us, and He watches over us. But it is usually through another person that He meets our needs.”- Spencer W Kimball

“You are not white though. Gimana si(How is that??)??”- a cute lady’s reaction when I told her I am from America

“See you in heaven!!”

“If the dogs beat you on the street, you can call me.”- nice man we contacted. he's got our back

“Salam ke Obama ya??” (tell obama i say hi!)