Had a good week in our new area.

For P-day we went to the mall close to Senopati and rode a 7 story tall slide! It was intense! And freaking fast! We had to wear cool suits and helmets! 

 

Then we just came home and cleaned things up and did laundry! Then we went shopping for food. I found tortillas, cheese, beans and salsa and I almost cried I was so excited to see those foods!  So, I bought them and I made burritos for dinner it was just amazing ... expensive but I had to get it!

One day I even  woke up and I made Breakfast burritos ;') life is great!

Even Sponge Bob wanted a picture with us!

We haven’t had many people to teach because this is a new area ... so I got this bright idea to go to this big tourist place called Kota Tua with the other Elders and we would sit and wait for people to ask to take pictures with us.  So we went there and It was a super success! We sat down and had people coming over to us wanting to know who we were and get a picture! After 4 hours of us just sitting, I gave out 5 copies of the Book of Mormon and got 17 contacts! It was my best idea yet! I think we will do this once a week!

Our crowd!

I got a letter saying my package from mom and dad was being held hostage at the main post office and I had to pay $20 to get it.... Not to mention $10 to get there by taxi >:( grrr and 10 bucks to get back! Freaking expensive.  Then the guy went thru my whole package and then did a crappy job taping it back up. Then said it was "just random" Then 2 of our appts fell thru... kind of a  tough day -_-

Some days are tough.  One day this week we spent the day riding the bus and nothing came out of it ... we were supposed to have a lesson at 5pm that night but the guy cancelled ... we were bummed but we went to McDonalds because Elder Prayitno had never been before! Crazy right? Anyways, he loved it!

On Friday we had Zone Training meeting.  We had to introduce all the new Elders so Elder Prayitno got up to do it and at the end of it he said "Elder Jones is my trainer and my slave driver".  He's a pretty funny guy. 

Zone Meeting

 We also had English class and had everyone bring candy for Thanksgiving! Sister Sheffield asked who knew the meaning of Thanksgiving and my investigator raised his hand and said all the Americans smoked peyote with the Indians! And he was totally serious. It was great ...... it’s hard to fit in lessons on Fridays cause we always have meetings.

English class is always fun

Church was short for us this week.  I blessed the sacrament in Indonesian, but then we went home cause Elder Prayitno was sick again.  We gave him a blessing that night.  He is doing better today. 

Questions:

How's the apartment hunting going? Haven’t started. We’re enjoying the mission home ha ha j/k
What’s a typical day in Jakarta working? Riding the bus, contacting people, trying to get investigators
Did my package to you come? Yep! Thank you!
If so, did you open it? Ha-ha nope it’s under my bed
Don’t open until November 30th if you have an apartment.  :-) ok thanks! What’s the slide at the mall pictures? Rode a crazy slide
W hy are you wearing helmets? Because it’s dangerous
Where are you with all of the elders/sisters at the church? Were at zone meetingWhat are your plans for Thanksgiving this week? Probably rice and eggs maybe a mango if I have money
Do you get a traditional dinner somewhere? hahahhahahahaha .... No
Have you had dinner at the mission home yet? Nope Do you miss your mom? Yes! What are you doing for p- day today? Going ice-skating 

Love you all!  Have a great week,

Elder Jones

 

 

 

Week 44 - Jakarta - If they ever offer you monkey kabobs, just say NO!

Hello from my new area!  We had a great week.

Monday (P-day)

We went to the other ward and played futsol! It was great playing with the whole zone! After futsol Elder Prayitno and Elder Baize and I went to Block M (it’s a place where they make fake everything) They bought some cool stuff!

The National Monument (Indonesian: Monumen Nasional, abbreviated Monas) is a 132 m (433ft) tower in the center of Merdeka Square, Central Jakarta, symbolizing the fight for Indonesia. It is the national monument of the Republic of Indonesia, built to commemorate the struggle for Indonesian

independence.

 

 

At the top of Monas

 

Wish this was the mission car...

This morning Elder Prayitno fell out of bed it was funny but scared us both! 

Tuesday 

Today we had a good appt with a guy from an island way far away! I think he is golden. He has a problem with smoking so I told him about how Christ performed miracles with the Priesthood.  I asked him if he believes in that?  He said he did, so I told him we would say a special prayer for him to stop smoking!  We said a prayer and then I asked for his cigarettes so he wouldn't be tempted anymore.  He hasn’t been smoking since ! He is so happy now! I'm looking forward to teaching him more.  Later that night when we came home from working, we met Elder Randy D. Funk of the Quorum of the Seventy and that was really cool! He actually served his mission here in Indonesia! 

Wednesday 

We had a special missionary lesson with Elder Funk, Brother John Tanner and Brother Gibson.  It was great!  We all learned a lot and I had to translate for my companion Elder Prayitno.  It was hard because they talk so fast, but challenging and fun to be able to do it! 

Thursday

We went proselyting then came home cause all the ZL's were coming to Senopati for MLC.

Friday 

Today we had DDM (Zone Conference).   Later that night I taught English class.   

THEN I GOT A PACKAGE from Leslee :))) Thank you so much It was perfect! I love the book too :) Thank you you’re the best !!! 

Saturday (if you're squeamish skip this paragraph)

I ate monkey.  It’s gross!  If you're ever at a restaurant and they offer you monkey kabobs...just say no!

There are lots of places you can eat cobra.  They even let you pick the one you want.  They will drain the blood into a cup and let you drink it and then fry up the meat.  Haven't tried that one yet...

which one looks yummy?

Questions:

Who is looking for an apartment for you and your comp? We are 

Do you have to go out and try and find one yourself? yes
Is there a ward in your area? No we will go to the Jakarta Ward
How do they decide when to open a new area? When they get 2 awesome Elders! J
How close will you live to the mission home? 1 ½ hours away
Will it be just you and Prayitno? Yep!
Do you help the AP’s do work? Yes every day. We are the AAP's (Assistant to the Assistants to the President) ha-ha!
Have you eaten dinner at the mission home? Not yet !
Do you ever go to the mission office? Every day 
Do you get your packages faster now? Yes!

Have a great week everyone!

Love,  Elder Jones

 

 

Week 43 - Transfered to North Jakarta!

Hello Everyone,

It's a new week and lots has happened! 

Monday (P-day)

Today was awesome! We went to some ancient Hindu temples that are on an active volcano.  There were volcanic vents where the steam was pouring out.  It was so freaking awesome! I’ll let the pictures talk for me! We then had to hitch hike our way back to town because there were no more buses. So we rented out a truck for $2.50  a person and went home in the back of a truck bed! It was fun!! 

You can see the steam coming from the volcano

View from the top!

 

 

Gedong Songo is a Hindu temple located in Central Java, Indonesia. The site was originally built during early period of Medang Kingdom which controlled Central Java during the 8th and 9th centuries. Similar to Dieng Plateau, Gedong Songo was erected out of volcanic stone and the two complexes represent the oldest Hindu structures in Java.

 

Elder Chou and Elder Jones

For lunch we had rabbit

 

Tuesday 

Packing and English class.  I hate packing.... but English was good! Got a few gifts from the awesome English class!  Glad to know that I'll be missed! 

Wednesday 

Packing and finishing everything up! Printed out my plane ticket and came home cleaned and did washing then made mango smoothies! It was good :) 

Thursday 

Got up early and left Semarang! 

Semarang airport

View of Jakarta

Volcano I can't remember the name of....

Friday Saturday

Met my comp! He is such a good guy and so funny! Plus he is just out of the MTC! So I get to teach him everything! We’re going to do great. We went out to work.  It takes an hour everyday by bus to get to our area and we got way lost the first day and got home late, but it's going to be great.

Sunday 

Church was good! I got a text from a member in Bogor who was in the hospital and wanted the sacrament so I took that after church and got to see a lot of old faces which was nice. 

 

Questions for Tyler:

 

How’s living at the mission home?  The mission home is nice. We live out back in an apartment and it's just 4 Elders.  HOT SHOWERS AND A DRYER!!! I DONT HAVE TO HANG MY CLOTHES TO DRY!

What is your new area?  North Jakarta (Jakarta Uttara) Google Grogel and Ancol and Monas and you’ll see my area.  Right now I live with the AP's (Assistants to the President).  We're the 2nd AP's for a month!  

How was your transfer from Semarang? Good! The flight was a bit bumpy but overall it was good.

What is that creature that you’re standing by in the costume? I have no idea

What is that super tall tower in Jakarta? It’s called Monas

Who is your companion? Elder Prayitno

Where is he from? Jogjakarta 

Are you on splits with other missionaries? No I got my comp and were living at the mission home

Did you get the oil vial? Yes thank you tons!

What is the name of the volcano that you went to visit? I forgot sorry 

Understand your Christmas package instructions? YES ha-ha

Did you get a letter from me this week? No

What’s the work like where you are going? New... hot and muggy! I’ll probably here 6 months so tell Dyrk to get over here!

Where did you go to church this week? The Jakarta Ward in Harmoni

Are there some things that we bought that you don’t need?  Jeans 

What did you think of the picture of me and Elder Chou’s mom?  That was funny! 

Randomly met Elder Chou's mom while working at the Phoenix Temple Open House!

 

What are your new responsibilities as a trainer and for opening a new area? Everything imaginable!

Plans for p day today? Play fut sol with the Zone then go to a place where they make fake American things; hats, clothes etc.

Where did Prayitno go for the MTC? Philippines

How long has he been a member? Whole life

Do all Indonesian missionaries go to the Philippines?  Yes, 2 weeks there

Looking forward to a great week in my new area! 

Love,  Elder Jones





  

Week 42 - Saying Goodbye to Semarang

Found this cute little guy in our house

Hello Everyone,

This week has gone pretty good.  I spent some time visiting all the people I want to say goodbye to before I leave.  I’m excited to move but sad at the same time!  I really love the members here.



Our Bishop



This week we gave out 2 Books of Mormon and had a lesson with one of our investigators.  Bishop came to the lesson which was good! He was a lot of help!

We met a new lady. She really didn’t understand the concept of Jesus and why he was crucified.  She grew up in a village where they just had a tribal religion and so we have to start on fresh ground.... but that’s ok!

On Friday we had our last DDM (District meeting)  together in Semarang. We took some fun pictures! We went to Brother Bon Bon’s and he wasn’t there again.   So then we met with Brother Sam.

Questions:

Are you allowed to have pocketknives? If I sent you one in a Christmas package would you be able to have it? No I wouldn’t send one also don't send chocolate or melty things.  It's getting very hot here.

Do you transfer on Thursday? Yep to Jakarta!

Amanda wants to know if you think in Indonesian now. Not usually

Are you transferring to the Mission home? Yep only for 2 weeks until we get a house!
What will you are doing there? Working still/

Maybe you could make the Donald's some Arizona salsa! I could but they don’t sell tortilla chips!

What will you miss about Semarang? The members!

What are you doing for p-day today?

I'm going to a temple built 400 years after Jesus .. its 2 hours away.

 

Please pray that we will find people who want to hear our message! 

Love you all and have a great week!

 

Love, Elder Jones