2 more baptisms, The Sickness, My last week in Jakarta

Hello all. This week was a bit of a tough one because 3 out of the 5 people in our house got pretty sick, and yes one of them was me. Usually we only have 4 Elders in the house but Elder Siahaan from Bogor is going home tomorrow and spent the week in our house in Jakarta before he went home. First Elder Hansen got really sick and my companion Elder Fowler stayed home to take care of him. Then the next day I got pretty sick with a fever and a sore throat. I even lost my voice pretty bad too, I sounded like a 90 year old chain smoker. And then shortly after I got sick my companion Elder Fowler got sick too, so we spent quite a bit of time resting up and trying to get better. It wasn't very fun at all but I am feeling good again now! So because of that sickness that went around not much got done this week. We still met with one of our investigators from Iran, he was awesome and I am sad to leave them but I am sure they will progress without me. We also got 2 more baptisms in the Jakarta 2 ward yesterday! Sister Lusiana and Sister Liliana got baptized! They were a referral from a member in the English ward and the sisters did a great job teaching them.
So yes this is my last week in Jakarta, tomorrow I will be moving to Manado to finish off my mission there. I am excited but it is actually kind of scary now because my mission is really coming to a close and it doesn't feel like it should be and it is weird. I am going to do my best though! Some members were pretty sad for my last Sunday in Jakarta, I even got some gifts. It is always sad leaving an area. I grow to love the people there so much and then just leave them. It is though but that is how it goes. I am still happier than ever to serve where ever the Lord desires. Saya akan melayani di mana pun Tuhan inginkan! Today for P-day I am just dropping some stuff off at the mission office before I move, we pick up the new Jakarta DL, and then I will pack and we have an appointment later tonight. Mother's day is in like 2 weeks right? I am excited for that Skype call!

-Elder Hymas-

I am transferring again, I have money problems.

Hello all,
This week has been pretty good, I had a really good interview with President Donald and he told me that I will be moving one last time to Manado! Manado is the area everyone in the mission wants to go but only a select few get to go there. It is on a whole different island. Going from Jakarta to Manado is like transferring from Denver, Colorado to Georgia haha pretty far. I am pretty pumped for Manado, the church there is literally right in front of a beautiful beach and all of the people there are Christian. I am going to be companions with Elder Setijawan again, I was companions with him before when I was in Magelang.

Oh and I lost my wallet a while ago so I have no debit cards what so ever. So now I have no money and no ways to get money. Hopefully I make it!

I picked up my suit a few days ago and it was pretty awesome, it has cool batik inside.

Okay well I got to go to Taman Mini for P-day today. Have a great week!

Elder Hymas

Wallet got stolen, but Conference was great!

Hello all,
This week was.... alright. Elder Fowler and I have been riding the buses around and going places trying to talk and teach people, I am getting a little bored of riding the buses all around though, I gotta find something new to do. We were riding the train on the way home and it was super packed in the train, like we can't even move around on the train. Well when I got off the train I check my pockets and my wallet was gone :( Someone must have stolen it while I was on the train. It is a common problem here. Well now I don't have my mission debit card or my personal debit card anymore haha. I called the person in charge of money and he said he was going to transfer my money to my companions account, so 2 days later we need to take out my money and Elder Fowler couldn't find his card. So now we both don't have our mission debit cards! So these past couple of days we have been spending very little money. I have been living off of like $3 the past couple of days. Hopefully today we get some money. But on a brighter note General Conference was awesome! I watched it in English yesterday and I was happy. We have a refugee family from Iran who are our investigators. We met with them and had a great lesson about Joseph Smith and watched the short movie. We were trying to get them a Book of Mormon in Persian but it was hard. Apparently it was out of stock online and would take a long time to get one. And then one of the members decided to look in his book self and found a Book of Mormon in Persian! He doesn't know how or why he got one but he was willing to give it to us. So that was a cool miracle, I know that the Lord looks out for us and provides. I hope everyone has a great week!

-Elder Hymas-

Hospital Trip again, and Handel's Messiah

Hello all! There wasn't too much that happened this week. I had to take Elder Arthur to the Hospital because he sprained his ankle, they were afraid he broke it so they got an X-ray done. But he didn't brake it, he only sprained it.

We also had a some public affair events this week. On Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday night we watched the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing Handel's Messiah at the church. We invited a bunch of people to it and made it a nice event for people to come and watch. We had a good amount of people there each day and I really enjoyed watching a bit of the performance. Man those people can sing!

 Our Investigator and his family from Iran came to church on Sunday and had a really good time, he also brought a friend to church with him too from Iran. We found some pamphlets about Joseph Smith and an old Gospel Principles book in Persian at the church to share with them so that was a miracle!

I am also having a little ingrown toenail issue again so I am wearing sandals for the time being and trying to take care of it. I might end up having to take the toenail out again just to get rid of it. It isn't that bad right now but I don't want it to get bad.

Love ya! Have a great week!

Some toys I found at the mall

The view from the Hospital

The MOTAB Messiah even

I got the call.... Happy Easter! (Selamat Hari Paskah!)

Hello,
This week was pretty neat. For P-day last week I went to get measured for a suit. I am going to get a new black suit with blue batik design in the inside and my name embroided inside too. It is a super high quality suit too and it only cost me $116, pretty suit deal considering that would cost like $1000 in America. The suit should be ready next week.

We were supposed to have a district meeting last Tuesday, but we figured out too late that all the taxis and public transportation were having a demonstration that day so we struggled to get half way to the mission office and then just ended up postponing the meet until Saturday. We were stuck at a mall for a few hours because there was no public transportation at all, then we finally found one bus back home and took it. Apparently there were some fights going on and it was nuts. The traffic was crazy because taxis were just driving around striking. The next day the taxi company felt bad for their behavior and offered free taxi rides the whole day.

There is this new member who moved into our area a few months ago. We have been working hard with him to get him to church on Sunday, and yesterday he came and had a good time and met the members so that was awesome.

Also a few days ago I got a call from the mission office and they asked me what airport I would like to fly into when I go home... so yeah they already bought my ticket home... My last day here is on the 27th of July and I will fly home on the 28th of July, probably in the morning, so that means I might get home on the 28th of July in the afternoon, 4 months from today, crazy. I don't know if that is a long time or not.

We had a great Easter yesterday. We had some investigators in Gospel Principles class yesterday and the teacher wasn't here so I was just going to teach, but then President Donald walked in and joined us and he pretty much taught the whole lesson so that was nice haha it was a great lesson too.

And then later that night we went to a member from the English ward and had Easter dinner there. They invited another family too from Iran. They are Christens and refugees. They were super cool though and they were really interested and touched from our message about Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. The father asked a lot of good questions and us and the member who invited us answered and taught him a lot. He wants go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcast on Saturday and Church on Sunday with his family. The Spirit was strong and I have high hopes for them. It is always a great experience when members give referrals and help teach and give commitments.

Well I hope everyone is doing well! See ya later.

- Elder Hymas

Some modern art I found

We went Easter Egg hunting,

Some hospital trips

Hello Everyone,
This week was a fun one to say the least. Last P-day we just kind of hung out at the mission office because we have no money and we will probably do the same thing today haha. On Tuesday we met with one of our investigators who is a Muslim but pretty smart about the Bible and other beliefs. When we first started meeting with him he was a bit defensive and questioning but now his heart is beginning to soften and he is more accepting of our message. It is cool to see the effect the gospel has on people even if it might take a while.
Then on Wednesday our house got gassed all of a sudden to kill mosquitoes to prevent Dengue Fever. Well we were in the house when it got gassed and I think it made us a bit crazy that day and didn't make our food too good either. Oh and Elder Arthur also fell off a hammock at our house and got a slight concussion so we dragged him to the hospital to try to fix him, I got some cool contacts that day though so that was cool.
Then the next day we got a call from the bishop to visit a member family in the hospital because their young kid got Dengue Fever the night before and they wanted a blessing. So we went over to the hospital and visited them and gave the kid a blessing.
On Saturday the bishop's daughter in the Jakarta English ward got baptized. It was a cool and the spirit was strong, the little girl was so happy to be baptized! Then they had a potluck meal afterwards and it was amazing! We had pizza, lasagna, enchiladas, meatballs, jello, cupcakes, and lots of food that I haven't had in like 20 months! That night I also interviewed the sister's investigator for baptism and the interview went well. Her baptism was yesterday and it was a joyous affair. Then after the baptism we practiced choir for the stake conference, we are getting pretty good. Then we went to a family home evening with some members and our investigator. Then after that I gathered statistics and went to bed. All-in-all it was a good, eventful week.
Elder Hymas

our house got gassed

Elder Arthur at the hospital (Bad pic)

Elder Arthur didn't feel so well..

Solar Eclipse and a Field Trip

Selamat Pagi! This week was pretty good. We started off our week visiting this place called the Skybar for p-day. It is located on the top floor of one of the tallest buildings in Jakarta and we get to see the city from real up high. It was super cool and really hot! Then later on the night we went to an appointment with a member. This member met this guy when she got a ride home from institute and talked about the church with him and he wanted to meet. So we went to his house with this member and visited this guy. He has a lot of problems in his life like getting a divorce and has a really big debt and doesn't have a job and lives with his disabled friend, and is on the run from people that he owes money too. Well ya needless to say he has problems. We told him that we can only help him spiritual through our messages and that Jesus Christ and His Atonement will help him. I think he was a bit disappointed because it seems like he really just wanted help with his money and job problems. A lot of people here get a lot of free stuff from other churches and they expect us to do the same. But church isn't about free door prizes and and stuff. But we do give them the thing that they really need most, even when they don't realize it.
So the next day a class form a Theological school had a field trip to our church because a few students were going to present their project on their research of the "Mormon Church" and then they had a question and answer session with me and another member. We were invited to this by a mission couple here in charge of public relations, so we had to keep it professional and couldn't be too pushy. Their project was actually pretty good and they said they learned a lot. All of the students were really curious and asked really good questions. They all took a Book of Mormon home and a few other materials. They were all really interested in our church and hopefully the seeds planted in their hearts that day will grow.
I finished reading Doctrines of Salvation volume 1 by Joseph Fielding Smith the other day. It was really good and he explained a lot of gospel principles to me really well and it strenghened my faith. I have noticed lately that I have been more assertive and to the point with people when I share with them the gospel. I have become a lot braver to testify of our Savior Jesus Christ and His restored church to everybody and everybody. It feels good to know that my testimony has grown so much on my mission and it is nice to simply know without a doubt that this church is true and be brave to share it to everybody. I am excited to serve in greater callings in the church in my future and help the Lord's kingdom grow.

have a great week everybody!
- Elder Hymas

We went to a place called the skybar, It is on the highest floor on once of the tallest buildings in Jakarta so the view was cool

We felt pretty rich up there

Here is the solar eclipse we watched, pretty awesome... and I head to wear 3 pairs of sunglasses to see it