Gempa bumi AND MORE 28 Jan 2018

EARTHQUAKES and MORE!

HAI! MY BLESSED FAM & FRIENDS! Hows it going? A GREAT WEEK HERE! Way good, for reals. My time is short, so here is a synopsis of my week via FOTOS! 

Here is a blurry picture of me and the new crack at Senopati due to the GEMPA BUMI aka EARTHQUAKE. In the middle of Penatua Israel, we slowly start to realize that an earth quake was happening. Good thing I am from Southern California and quickly applied my skills of "duck and cover" under the table from all those earthquake drills! NO, actually I thought for a second that I was gonna die, and forgot to apply those skills. Maybe next time yeah? 

No one thought the chocolate in my teeth was funny :/

just a few members of the WARD FAMILY ! :)

Grateful to be here everyday. I love you with all of my heart! Thanks to the few loyal people who send me emails. They really do make my week, and you know who you are :)

dahdah!

dengan segenap hatiku,

Sister Ratu <3

Saudara"ku di mana" di jakarta :"") 21 Jan 2018

My Brothers and Sisters are EVERYWHERE in Jakarta!

Another happy week in the blessed land of Indonesia :)

One of my favorite things about serving in the CRAZY and traffic jammed, Ibukota, Jakarta is that I get to meet people from literrrallllyyyy everywhere around the world. It warms my heart meeting sons and daughters of God from Iran, Afghanistan, etc. that flee their country for safety here. And of course there's Australia, Japan, etc. that come here for work or for comfortable living aka RETIREMENT lol. all to come here and to start a new life. Specifically speaking of the refugees I have met here, I truly feel that the Lord has a Plan bigger than they know. And it's all only starting here in Indo. :)

also Sister Ratu gets SO EXCITED when she contacts someone and finds out they are from BALI or MANADO!! It is an instantaneous connection and eases in really nicely to the why and how our Father in Heaven is a God of Miracles.

more than the usual, I have been meeting people this week from Manado, which is where my Mama is from, and my Opa from my dad's side. In particular, I have been meeting people who are from the same 'suku' as me- which means tribe. And I'm like "NO WAY! YOU ARE MY SAUDARA!?!" (aka my brother/sister)

this Sunday, two women walked into the church wanting to attend the worship service. they are asli manado! we found out we are from the same place, and same suku.

long story short, she met Elders 6 years ago on the busway, got a Kitab Mormon from them. 2 years ago, same thing happened. and then 2 weeks ago, she meets Elder Nielsen (shout out to my MTC brother) at gramedia and he invites them to church! and they CAME! They informed us how they have been wanting to come here since 6 years ago, and how she has been waiting to meet the missionaries again.. and how her heart feels right here. She feels that the rumors are WRONG (they are lol) and believes that what she feels is true!

A REAL MIRACLE LEMME TELL YA THAT! 

2 Nefi 27:23
23 For behold, I am God; and I am a God of ^amiracles; and I will show unto the ^bworld that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I ^cworknot among the children of men save it be ^daccording to their faith.

I know God is a God of miracles! He sent His Son, and through Christ we can overcome anything. It is a miracle that we can return home to Them, and it is a miracle for us to know that They LIVE!

dengan segenap hatiku,

Sister Ratu <3 

BERSUKACITALAH! inilah pekerjaan Dia 14 Jan 2018

REJOICE! This is His work.

My beloved fam & friends,

FIRST AND FOREMOST- 

everyone send a big HAPPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MTC COMP/SOUL SISTER! SISTER NUKU!! mounu.nuku@myldsmail.net ! 21 on the 17th aduh maduh!

SECOND-

my time is very limited this week BUT.. our beautiful simpatisan who has been investigating the church for the last year and more has come to terms herself that she wants to be baptized! It truly was such a happy miracle. She even gave herself her own baptismal date. We are so excited for her, and this indeed is the Lord's work!

THIRD- one of my favorite scriptures I have been thinking a lot about lately is Alma 5:26.

26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?

I testify that through our Savior Jesus Christ, we can change, and become better human beings every single day! We are always changing, and I am thankful for one of the amazing blessings of the mission, to truly understand who my Savior is, what He thinks of me, and how I can use His Atonement. I am always so filled with love when I come to recognize how much my investigators have had 'a change of heart'  or when I myself have experienced that, and it is true that I have felt to sing of His love! I am just thankful to be here, and I know that this is exactly where the Lord needs me to be right now. It indeed brings so much joy to my heart!

Love you with my whole heart and more!

Sister Ratu <3

Quotes of the week:

"What are you doing in Indonesia?? Is this your tour guide?"- someone we were contacting asked my comp this lolol\

"Try to guess my age."- me "About 45?"- little girl 

"Why is your family white and you are the only black one?"- someone I contacted as i showed a pic of my cute fam  

AND OF COURSE HERE ARE PICS!! GOOD 4 THE SOUL!!! 

PLD pics, happy distrik fam, splits w/my Nukez, the INDO TRIO REUNITED!, happy times, oh my heart!!!! :''''')))) 

personal fave is the pic of the kiddos. i told them to smile like this: :D bahahahah

PROBZ THE BEST WEEK EVR TBH! 7 Jan 2018

PAGI beautiful fam & friends, 

Sister Fuglsang and I have been experiencing the crazzzieeessst week ever! But just filled with miracles!! Srsly to the BRIM with mukjizat on mukjizat, and I don't have quite enough time to explain it all in detail.. so here are some quick highlights..

1) my first MLC- one the most spiritually uplifting meetings I have attended, along with mac and cheese, and pasta, to end the night..I literally had goosebumps while eating mac and cheese, it was glorious. 2) meeting a man who stated "It bugs me that people believe we won't recognize our families in heaven. Like, I want to be with them forever!" and we're like "EXACTLY! FAMILIES CAN BE TOGETHER FOREVER! here is HOW- *plan of salvation pamphlet*. Along with that, this man loved doges as much as we did, and had a tattoo of his lab on his arm :) 3) Novi and Feby, our incredible investigators, received dates for their baptisms, and they are SO happy, and it is a true testament that it is the Lord who prepares the hearts of man! 

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST,

During MLC, Sister Jensen asked me to come out to talk to her, and she told me that a lady came in the mission home asking for me. She had no idea who this lady was, but she felt very strongly that she needed to get me to meet her. TURNS OUT, THIS LADY IS MY GREAT AUNT! HER NAME IS NANCY! AND SHE IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! My dad sent her the mission home address, in which she immediately went there, and what are the odds- that day, and that time, I was there, and we met, and hugged, and cried for 5 mins, and we met her again the other day, and taught the Plan of Salvation. AND SHE LIVES IN MY AREA IN JAKARTA!

When I went to Manado in April, I met her mom.. and her mom is my grandpa's little sister. So YA!! CRAZINESS! It is incredible to see how the Lord truly is in the details of our lives, and to end off with the words of our beloved prophet Thomas S Monson who just recently passed away, "There is a guiding hand above all things. Often when things happen, it's not by accident. One day, when we look back at the seeming coincidences of our lives, we will realize that perhaps, they weren't so coincidental at all."

It is my testimony that God is our loving Heavenly Father! He does not do things by coincidence, but divine design! All events and associations that unfold in our lives indeed are meant to further God's work on Earth! 

I love you all so much and am so thankful for your love and light in my life!

I LOVE INDO!!

xo Sister Ratu <3

My Great Aunt, Nancy!!!

Ada suka, ada duka :-) 1 Jan 2018

IT IS 2018!!! I cannot believe how fast 2017 went by.. like for reals, I honestly feel like I was just at the MTC and here I am with 5 months left. OPO SI?!?!

"ada suka" means there are ups, and "ada duka" means there are downs.

so as for those 2 people that read these emails, lemme give you a quick recap of this weeks ups and downs!

ADA SUKA!

Sister Fuglsang and I have been whitewashing. Last transfer and again, and it's quite the adventure! We have been working super hard in finding new investigators... as in, people who are truly and genuinely interested and ready to receive the restored Gospel. And being completely 110% honest, the last couple months in Jakarta have been pretty rough in trying to find those people. BUT THIS WEEK, WE SEEMED TO EXPERIENCE AN APPOINTMENT WITH AN INVESTIGATOR WHO WAS TRULY AND GENUINELY INTERESTED IN THE GOSPEL! We found ourselves at Oma & Opa's (our investigators) and their cucu wanted to learn with us.

So the next couple of days we met up with their cucu, taught her Pemulihan (the Restoration) at the local McDonalds' (all the miracle lessons happen there), and the whole time, she had the biggest smile on her face, and kept putting her hand on her heart. She expressed that she felt something different- joy and peace and a sincere interest in knowing more of what we just taught her.

AND THEN SHE CAME TO CHURCH WITH US SUNDAY! AND AFTER, SHE EXPRESSED EVEN MORE OF HOW MUCH SHE LOVED IT AND HOW SHE NEEDED TO KNOW MORE!!!

Moments like that are what missions are all about! Giving people the chance to receive the amazing blessings our Father in Heaven has for each of us as His children with DIVINE potential! SO MUCH JOY IN SEEING OTHER EXPERIENCE JOY FROM THE GOSPEL!

ADA DUKA!

And before that miracle janji at McDs, Sister Fugs and I came to an absolutely horrifying realization that we had KUTU RAMBUT. You heard it right ladies and gents, WE GOT HEAD LICE! Bhahahahha honestly the most horrific moments of my life. We were in the middle of proselyting and referal chasing in the kampungs, and then we sprinted to 4 different pharmacys for lice treatment, booked it home, treated our hair 4x, got new sheets and pillows, deep cleaned the apartment, took everything to the laundry mat to get washed and ironed, and now I know that "all these experiences shall be for thy own good" is true! i am a pro at knowing what to do if someone gets head lice now! :-) maybe my future child will get head lice, siapa tahu. whats important is that IF YOU FEEL LIKE LIFE IS HARD AND YOU WANT TO DIE, remember that Sister ratu felt the same way when she got head lice, but she survived. IF SHE CAN DO HEAD LICE, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING!!!

ANYWHO, 

through it all, there really is true joy in being in Indonesia with my brothers and sisters and sharing with them of the love of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

HERES TO 2018!!! I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for each of you amazing and loved human beings!!!

SENDIN YA ALL MAH LOVE FROM JAKARTA INDO TO WHEREVER ANDA BERADA<3

xo Sister Ratu

1- the beautiful & wonderful district fam :)

2- the beautiful & wonderful OG FAM IN THE USA! 

3- fave kiddos

4- sis sesi knows the quanstroms from my home ward! such a small world!!!!

5- new year new me LICE FREE hahahahhahahahhahahahhaa im dead

6- DADS OLE STOMPING GROUNDS!! on skype, my dad informed me that he LIVED IN MANGGA BESAR for four years before he was married! i am literally walking the land of my fam!