Christmas

Merry Christmas! :) Nothin like the Christmas spirit! We have some super sweet investigators right now. One is Laura..she has three kids and her husband just left her. She was looking for something to give her hope and she found it...the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. She is just eating up all the lessons and her and her oldest son will be baptized the week after Christmas. I will skype next Thursday, so this may be short, but I just want to give my testimony about TRUSTING IN THE LORD! I have learned over the last few weeks especially how important it is to TRUST AND RELY ON THE SAVIOR. As long as we are trying to go through our days on our own strength, we can never succeed, but as we rely on our Savior to literally guide our every action, WE CANNOT FAIL. I have never felt the power of prayer so strongly in my life. HE HEARS, HE LOVES US, HE WILL HELP US, and he expects us to help our brothers and sisters. I hope this Christmas we can all reach out to help the lowly in heart. I know that I am literally nothing without Jesus Christ on my side and I can do anything WITH Him. As I have helped others grow A testimony of Jesus Christ or grow IN their testimony of HIM, I feel that MY testimony and reliance in my Savior continues to grow, and I couldn't be more thankful for that. Thank you for your prayers, I love you from way over here :) 

Sister Reilly

Christmas Spirit

Such a good week! Just want to give a quick shout out to MUM for the mini Christmas tree, it brings the Christmas spirit to our little Jakarta apartment :). From a pretty tough week last week we had some amazing things happen this week and we felt sooo many blessings poured out upon us. Jakarta is different than my first two cities, the people are busy, not as friendly, and not as open. The same things I did in my other cities aren't as effective here and we have had to find innovative ways to get to the people here. EVERYONE thinks we are Johova's Witness here and it's sooo frustrating. If they give us the chance to tell them we aren't they usually are WAY more open. So this week with our proselyting time we tried just talking about Christmas and asking if we could share a Christmas message. Then we would share "The Living Christ" with them and we saw way more success! 

The sad thing about Christmas here is that Christ..THE REASON for Christmas is completely taken out of it. Because it is a Muslim country, they still love the Christmas tree's in the malls, Santa and buying gifts, but you will never see anything about the real reason for Christmas...Our Savior Jesus Christ. 

I am glad we get to share about HIM, the reason. I love my Savior and feel the enabling power of His atonement in my life everyday. 

I want to tell you a little bit about Patrick. He is an African working here and we have been teaching him and his girlfriend with our WML in the English ward who speaks French. His ex-wife was Mormon and there was always missionaries at his house before, but he never wanted any part in it. He recognized us on the street and invited us to meet with him my first week here. Yesterday he was supposed to come to church but didn't show up and we had a feeling we should just go over to their place. He told us he was out partying all night and woke up at 12 and he that he wanted to change his life. He told us his life story and about how he has always had money to do whatever he wants, but he is not HAPPY. He has A LOT of changes to make and it will be hard, we told him that, but we know with the Saviors help he can. 

I still cannot describe seeing the change take place in people we teach. There is nothing that compares to seeing someone change there life through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We had some really awesome investigators attend church this week and we are planning to have a few baptisms on the 21st...no better Christmas present than that! 

Please pray for: 

Laura and her kids, Desti, and Patrik this week! 

I love my Savior. He is the greatest gift the world has and will ever received. He is the LIGHT. 

With Love, 

Sister Reilly 

one more funny experience from this week..we have now joined an old mens tennis group every Saturday at 6am. haha. They love us and this week I was playing with my usual 70 year old doubles partner and we had an awesome comeback and won 6 games to 5...anyways, during this game just about everyone outside of their apartment started gathering around to watch the game and the old guys kept saying..Sister Reilly, stop looking so serious...smile! it was so funny and Sister Akaiti was just cracking up the whole time hearing what people were saying. good times. there is actually a ton of potential with a lot of them and they are always asking us tons of questions about our beliefs and what we do.

VIDEO: HE is the GIFT

THE RAIN HAS STARTED!

Well, Jakarta definitely tested my patience this week! The raining season has started and I thought there was a crazy amount of traffic here last week...I was wrong. The streets flood like crazy and you can literally be in traffic from the afternoon until late at night. The work here is definitely harder than any of the other areas I've served in, but I know that no matter where I am, the Lords work will move forward! I'm glad my comp is up for whatever because I often just get up from the bus and say, "lets walk, this is crazy." haha! 

So a pretty cool experience from this week...we were proselyting in a shopping center type place and I just got this strong impression that we needed leave to go get on the first bus we saw. I turned to Sister Akaiti and asked if she trusted me and she said YA! So we left and got on the fist bus and we were just both praying that we would know what to do next...nothing came. We ended up just riding and talking to people on the bus and nobody seemed interested. It was getting pretty late so we decided we needed to just go back. I was feeling pretty confused at this point because I really felt like I had got an impression from the spirit. Anyways on the last stretch coming home a guy got crammed into the overly crowded bus (at night, the buses are like animal stalls) He saw the Book of Mormon and started asking me about why I was here. I explained and answered his questions and then I didn't say anything else. After a few minutes he turned to me and asked..."could I hear that message that your hear to share?" Long story short, he took the Book of Mormon and he's been reading and super interested! We are giving him to the Elders because he lives alone, but I just thought that was pretty cool :). Listen to the little promptings! 

We are still working like crazy here, trying to find people to teach, we are seeing miracles each day and I am so grateful to be taking part in the Lords work here. We will see amazing things happen in these to wards, I know it is true! There are so many people hungering and thirsting after the truth and we have and will continue to find them. 

I know that me Savior lives. 

I am grateful for this time of thanksgiving. I am so grateful for my Savior, my family, and my mission. I have SO MUCH to be grateful for, I can't express my gratitude for the many blessings my Heavenly Father has given me. I love you all and I am grateful for YOU! 

With so much love, 

Sister Reilly 

Jibs and Shefson going home and Thanksgiving!!!

JAKARTA!

So sorry about last week, things have been crazy! So I just moved from what now seems like a small city,Jogja, to the most populated city in Southern Asia, Jakarta! I saw so many miracles happen in the little ward I was serving in. Our sacrament meetings went from about half of the chapel being filled to there not being enough spots to sit! The Lords work in definitely hastening here, our mission has almost doubled the number of baptisms from last year, and it's so sweet to be a part of it. So Jakarta is seriously crazy, there is just so many people to talk to and there is never a boring day. 

I love my comp!!! So basically her and her comp were doing nothing here over the last 3 months, after this week she just straight up told me, they were just sleeping in and trying to do the least amount of work possible and she felt super bad actually. I had never felt better on my mission than how I felt last night. I have never been more tired in my life. WE WORKED LIKE CRAZY this week, talking to everyone on buses, walking miles everyday proselyting and I can't even count the miracles we have seen. My feet and legs hurt, but I've never been happier! 

We are over two wards here, and one is an English ward, but there's only like 50 people in it and there has only been one convert baptism in 2 years! Missionaries have just kind of ignored that ward and only focused on the Indonesian ward, but we are going to make a change! We've been praying and fasted that we would be able to help strengthen that ward and find Foreigners to teach (there are tons here). We made an appointment to meet with the ward mission leader who was kind of discouraged because of the lack of help from missionaries, but we told him our plan and he's excited to get things going! We seriously saw miracles this week and have met some really awesome people to teach, the Lord seriously just put them right in our path. One night before we headed to our apartment we just stopped and prayed that we would be able to find someone to teach who could be in the English ward. Less than 5 minutes later we met Jon, he is from Africa and he has been looking for a church, but doesn't speak Indonesian so he didn't know where to go...that's a miracle. Okay I'm just realizing this is way long..I'm just stoked on this work! After being in Jakarta for a week, this is already my favorite place to work. There is so many opportunities here and I can't wait to see what is going to happen in the upcoming weeks and months! 

The Lord hears our prayers, he listens and he answers! Pray out loud, pour out your heart to HIM, prayer truly is our greatest tool in life! I love my Savior and I feel His love for me and my brothers and sisters around me everyday! 

MUCH LOVE!! 

Sister Reilly 

Houses and meals like these exist?! Perks of the English ward!

JAKARTA

I don't have much time, but I'm in Jakarta! I got to see three of our investigators get baptized yesterday before I left, it was awesome! I will send the pictures, but they are not very good, sorry! I am happy and loving life! LOVE YOU!!! I'm stoked for the adventures to come in Jakarta! 

LOVE, 

Sister Reilly

Press forward with faith!

It was a great week. But before I explain some things that happened this week I just want to share my testimony of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I have never felt closer to him in my life, and as I grow closer to Him, the more of a desire I have to share my testimony of Him. He lives. He knows you, he knows your name and He has felt all that you have felt and will feel. He loves YOU and is pulling for YOU. I know that my Redeemer lives, I know that He was chosen before the world was to be the Savior and Redeemer of the world, to give himself as a great atoning sacrifice for all that have been and will be on the Earth. He is my rock and the foundation of my faith, and with Him I cannot fail. His hand reaching out to each of us, no matter who we are, where we live, what we have done,, He is waiting for us to take His hand and lead us to better things. To become better, to feel better, to LIVE better, and later to come live with Him and His Father for eternity. HE is the way to happiness. I feel it everyday. His invitation to ALL is to come unto Him and feel of His goodness! COME AND SEE. 

Yesterday was stake conference in Solo. We had to be there for Saturday, but the rest of the members left at 7am from the church to come. Pak Penijo (i sent a pic of him last week) usually gets picked up by a member to come to church, but the member could not take him. He woke up at 4 in the morning and walked to the church. That is about a 6 mile walk, and he is over 70 years old. THAT is faith in action. He is ready to be baptized this week, along with the husband and wife who I have been sending pictures of. They also walked to the church yesterday morning, and although I was elbowing the mom to keep her awake during conference they loved it :). On the way home, our bus had no AC and everyone was just sweating...so hot. I started going up and down the isles of the bus and fanning all the members, they got a good laugh out of it! I LOVE THIS WARD! We are getting so much help from the ward, it is amazing. I will really miss a lot of people in Jogja! Also, Pak Juhartono got the Melchizedek priesthood at conference yesterday...he is so solid and the change in him and his wife since being baptized is so awesome. I love the gospel, I love these people, I love my Savior! 

And I love you! 

Dengan Kasih, 

Sister Reilly

More UPs then downs!

Well, I will be staying in Jogja until the 17th! I don't like sharing bad news, but I should probably let you all know that the Johan's most likely will not be baptized on the 16th. Probably the biggest let down of my mission so far. I have never seen the adversary work so hard on one family before. Basically they just got bombarded with anti-mormon stuff..from others, from the internet, ect. The mom said that now when she tries to read the Book of Mormon her "heart rejects it" and she also felt that her prayers were answered and that the Lord told her she needs to stay at her old church. These last two weeks we have been fasting, praying, working on Pday, doing everything we can to help this family enter into the waters of baptism, but I know that they have their agency and we can only do our part to help them. They still want to learn, but I think we are going to give them a break for a little while and hopefully they will find the truth. 

Although that was super disappointing, It didn't get us down because I feel like the Lord has blessed us with other super awesome people right now. For the first time in my mission, we are getting tons of member referrals! We started teaching this family that was a referral from a member, they had learned with missionaries before and then the missionaries moved and they just kind of got forgotten. They have been to church many times and awesome! They are a family of 5. Next weekend is stake conference in Solo and they are coming! We have also been teaching a part member family (the lady who I've sent pictures of wearing the head covering). The dad works every Sunday because they literally have nothing and live off of what he gets everyday and we've been trying to have him take a leap of faith and come to church and THEY CAME! He left his job that he usually does on Sunday mornings and they came as a family to church. They have a baptismal date for the 16th a long with some of our other investigators...so all is still well, the Lord is blessing us! :) 

I have a book that I write in when I study everyday and I was looking back at all I've learned and how much my testimony has grown since I have been in the service of the Lord. It is crazy. I am so grateful for these 18 months. Missionaries say this quite often, but If I didn't convert a single soul on my mission, I HAVE BEEN CONVERTED. This is an all or nothing church. It is either ALL true, it is either GOD'S CHURCH, or it is all false, build upon the foundation of men deceiving the world, calling themselves prophets. I KNOW without a single doubt that this is CHRIST'S CHRUCH, and that His restored Gospel is the only way to true happiness in this life, salvation and eternal life. I know that Joseph Smith and his successors are prophets of God and I wouldn't trade that knowledge for anything. 

15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. 

16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ;wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. 

17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him. 

Pak Penijo. He will be baptized on the 16th. The most humble guy ever!

With so much love, 

Sister Reilly