Nice rhyme, nice rhyme..

Goood week. No baptisms this week, but we have some really progressive investigators who are coming to church every week and preparing for baptism. We had 8 of our investigators at church yesterday and one potential investigator that a member brought and the meeting was filled with the spirit! The member invited us over after church to teach her friend and it was a super cool lesson. This girl is actually from Japan and can hardly speak English so we taught in English and then the member translated into Japanese. She had never prayed before and she felt something different at church. At the end of the lesson we taught her the steps of prayer and she prayed to God for the first time in her life with us. Even though I didn't understand a word she said, I could feel the spirit as she talked to her Heavenly Father.

Elizabeth and her two boys are doing awesome. She has completely stopped smoking and the three of them will be baptized on the 29th of March. The youngest son turns 8 on the 26th so they can all be baptized together :). Elizabeth asked if she could pay tithing at church yesterday even though she isn't a member yet, and she did. She has so much faith and is an example to me of putting all trust in the Lord. 

A cool experience this week..I sat down next to a lady named Jeanne on the bus and we got to talking about our families and I showed her a picture of my family, she automatically said we looked to happy and I told her that we are all member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. She said that when I first sat down she has read 'Jesus Christ' on my Book of Mormon and was wondering why I was here. I explained about the Book of Mormon and a little about what our church believes. After about 5 minutes she turned to me and said..after my husband died almost two years ago, I went to church every week..then her eyes filled with tears and she said, but lately I have not gone to church and my faith has been very weak. She said that she knew that God has placed me in her path to help her. I also started crying because of her words, that seriously touched my heart like nothing before. She asked for the Book of Mormon and text us that night saying she had read the chapter I suggested and wanted to come to church and learn more. It's those experiences that make everything hard about the mission worth it. There is nothing better. I love this sacred calling.

Love,

Sister Reilly

"the world is in need of your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire,and souls to save. Are we doing all we can?"

Thomas S. Monson

No Masala!

Great week! This morning I had a really awesome experience, my companion asked me to sit in while she got her patriarchal blessing. It was powerful! I just want to share a part of it that I though was really sweet. He pronounced a blessing upon her that she would be able to be an instrument in the Lords hand to prepare her family to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ with full joy and sincerity. Her family is reaaaally strong in the Muslim faith, but it is amazing what the Lord can do through ONE person who has faith in Him and is willing to help Him in His work of salvation! Ibu Ribka's family has made awesome progress this week! Ibu Ribka has completely stopped smoking and drinking coffee for a week now and her girls were so excited to tell us about how they rejected tea given to them by their friends at school and that they are praying every morning and night! Please continue to pray for them as they prepare to be baptized this week! Ibu Elizabeth has also stopped smoking, but is still really struggling financially, she came alone to church yesterday because she didn't have enough money for her boys to ride the bus there and back. I know the Lord will work miracles in her family as they continue to put their trust in Him!

The Lord always provides! 

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me." Rev. 3:20

How good is the Lord? If the Savior of the world, the son of the Eternal Father just said that when we needed help we could come knock on His door, that would be amazing in itself, but He is not waiting for us to come knocking on His door when we need help, he is literally standing at OUR door, ALWAYS, knocking, waiting for US to open the door, so He can abide with us forever. What more can we ask for? How much better could it get? We have the greatest gift ever, waiting to be embraced, the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It will change your life, and continue to change your life, again and again. It has changed mine, and I have been able to see it change others. The Savior is there, when nobody else is. He knows us, He loves us, and He wants to make us into something we could never make ourselves into. I am nothing without my Savior Jesus Christ. I am more aware of that everyday. BUT we mean everything to Him, and can do and become anything with Him. I know that the full blessings of His atonement can only be received through His restored gospel and His Church, and I want everybody know about it. Share it baby! If you haven't yet received it, receive it baby! After you've receive it and feel of the joy and happiness that comes into your life because of it, you will want to share it baby! Christ lives, this is His Church and I am so blessed to be His servant. 

With so much LOVE,

Sister Reilly

Aku pun ingin tau!

Man, this work is legit. We get to see first hand the Lord work miracles in the lives of families and individuals everyday..there is nothing better! Ibu Elizabeth and her two boys are doing great! Elizabeth has been sticking to her plan in stopping smoking, she has dramatically decreased the amount she smokes, and is on the path to baptism on the 22nd of March. We are working with an amazing family, a mother and 4 girls who have committed to be baptized on the 15th. They love church and we love them! They are my 4 little sisters! Valari, Georgi, Delofa, and Visti! The mothers name is Ribka. They are amazing and love the ward and church. Ibu Ribka needs to completely stop drinking coffee this week, which is really hard for her...please pray for them!! Laura's family is doing amazing. It is so cool to see what a change has take place in their home since the father, Pak Donald has returned home and embraced the gospel. He comes to 3 hours of church each week and you can just feel a new light in their home! Laura has given the missionaries in Manado the addresses and numbers for her family members there and she is even sending books of mormon to her family members who live on islands without missionaries. She has caught the fire of missionary work! The gospel is the answer. It is light, it is happiness, it is the driving force to all that is good. It is the only way we can truly be happy in this life and live eternally with our Father in Heaven, His son Jesus Christ, and our families for eternity. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know this is Christ's Church and His gospel that has been restored in these latter days. It has brought light and happiness into my life and into the lives of people around the world! Share it! 

Love you!!

Sister Reilly

line upon line!

This week had it's high's and lows like every week. But, like usual, looking back on the week, the lows actually turned out to by highs! This week Sister Suyoto and I were helping prepare Elizabeth and her son to be baptized on Sunday. We went over all of the baptismal interview questions and they were both ready, but for some reason we both just felt like there was something missing and we didn't know what it was. We prayed a lot about it and felt that we should forward with the baptismal interview and we just told the Elder who interviewed our concerns and asked if he would be a little more intense/deep in the questions. Ibu Elizabeth ended up breaking down and telling him that she has a problem with smoking (which she never even told us) and that she has tried to stop, but she feels like she is literally going to die if she does. She asked for a blessing and we are helping her to overcome her addiction, she has set a goal to be baptized one month from yesterday. She was devastated and it was really sad because her son passed his interview and is totally ready, but we feel it is better for him to wait and help his mom so they can be baptized together. Before we left, her son said "you can do it mom!" With a huge smile on his face, it was so cute! The members here are amazing in supporting her and our other investigators. We had 7 of our investigators at church yesterday and 6 of those investigators are referrals from members! There is nothing better than serving in a ward where the members are excited about missionary work! One of the investigators who came to church was Carly, our ward mission leaders girlfriend! She has been praying so hard that her family would allow her to come to church and be baptized. Last week she had a dream that she told her family she wanted to be baptized and her family accepted it. After the second time she had the same dream, she decided she was going to tell her mom. Right before she was about to tell her, Carly's twin sister started saying something about Carly learning with the missionaries and was kind of making fun of the church. Then, Carly's mom just said out of nowhere, "If Carly want to change churches, that is fine, that is her choice, she has her agency..." Carly knew that that truly was the Lord answering her prayers! So sweet! 

Mom, what you wrote in your letter this week, was actually exactly what I wanted to write about. This week I was really humbled. I realized that I was letting the WORK, be a higher priority than the most important thing, who I am as a person. Sometimes as members/missionaries get so caught up in callings, duties and the things of men. No matter how good and important those things are, they are not what is MOST important. What is most important is our personal relationship with the Lord, and the true desires of our hearts. I invite you all to take a step back and make sure that WHO YOU ARE is in accordance with WHAT YOU DO. If not, repent, and be better :) We all have hope in our Savior, he can always make us better, we can always do BETTER and be our best selves. We can be perfected in Christ, but with out own strength we literally are nothing. 

With so much love!!

Sister Reilly

it feels good to be happy!

This morning we helped Elizabeth and her two boys move. The church was able to help get her into a new place to rent. We had members and missionaries helping them move all their stuff in the rain to their new place and it felt so good. As we were about to leave, Elizabeth just cried and said that there were no words to describe or nothing she could do to show how grateful she was. There truly is nothing better than helping someone in need, it was the Saviors mission. We are all in need of His Atonement, and He was willing to give His life to help us. Elizabeth and her son will be baptized next week and I know that they will be blessed beyond measure as they continue to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and keep the promises they make with the Lord when they are baptized. We are still working with out ward mission leaders girlfriend Carly, and she is amazing. We watched the Joseph Smith film with her and she said that after she watched that she really felt that she needed to start praying more fervently to know if this was the truth. Her family does not agree with the church and her learning, and that is really hard for her. We watched this video with her at the end of our last lesson...

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-010-patterns-of-light-the-light-of-christ?lang=eng

after watching the video she opened up and said that she had dreamed a few nights ago that she told her family about her desire to join the church and that everything was okay. As she watched the video the spirit confirmed to her again that God had answered her prayers and she knows that this is the truth and what she needs to follow. The Lord will always answer, no matter how big or small of a question or concern we have, He will help us and we will be guided by His spirit to know of the things that we need to do. I know that Christ lives, and that His gospel has been restored to the Earth through a modern prophet. I know this because I have followed the light of the spirit in search for the truth and have felt the powerful influence and confirmation of those truths in my life. It leads me to want to do good and to be better and it leads ALL to do the same. As we hearken to the promptings of the spirit in out lives DAILY, we will truly be led by and filled with light, the Saviors light. 

I love you so much,

Sister Reilly

"Jesus wants every one of us to know him because of the transforming power of that knowledge and because of the indescribable joy it brings into our lives. But the influence of the gospel is to extend beyond each individual. It is to be as a light that dispels the darkness from the lives of those around us. No one of us is saved solely and simply for himself alone, just as no lamp is lighted merely for its own benefit."Joseph B. Wirthlin

Also...

ps there were crazy floods here this week! I will send some pictures next week of the streets looking like rivers!

more blessings!

It was a great week. My new comp is awesome, she's so humble and willing to learn and be the best missionary she can be. You definitely wouldn't think this is only her first week in the mission if you didn't know! She's been a member for around 10 years and she came from a really strong Muslim family who pretty much rejected her when she decided to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. I pretty much use every excuse I can to tell people she used to be Muslim..without getting us in trouble killed of course :). Laura and Darrel were confirmed yesterday and Laura's husband, Donald, has been learning with us and seems to really like church and all that we are teaching him about the restored gospel on Jesus Christ. Please pray that he will be able to find work in Jakarta! Elizabeth and her two sons also came to church yesterday, they are a miracle. Elizabeth had an abusive husband before, they got divorced and the husband took the oldest son. Elizabeth has had some really huge trials in her life trying to provide for two children on her own. They are really poor and she sews just to get enough money to eat everyday. She has gone to many churches to try to seek the Lord and has felt that all the churches preached things they didn't live, so she stopped going and just decided to teach her boys from the scriptures at home. Long story short, a couple days after the first lesson, she texted us and asked if we could come over because she had received an answer to her prayer and knows that what we shared was true. The roof of part of her house fell in and the rain comes into her house and makes is smell really terrible, so we called the Elders Quorum President and he came and checked it out and is going to try to help get it fixed. Please pray for her and her two boys Rema and Christian. I know they will truly be blessed as they continue to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She has come to church the last two weeks and will be baptized on the 22nd with her 8 year old son, Christian. Last night after church she texted us and said that she has lost almost everyone from her own family but in our church she feels like she has a new family. The Gospel truly is amazing. It brings light into our lifes. It fills people with light even if they are in the darkest of situations. The gospel is light. Jesus Christ is my light and the light of the world. I know it and I am so blessed to be able to share that message to the world. 

With so much love,

Sister Reilly

Elizabeth and her boys!

blessings!

Wow, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the blessings and miracles we saw this week. Yesterday was Laura and Darrel's baptism. It was pouring rain since early in the morning and flooding. Laura can't get out of her house with her three kids when it rains hard because it's too slippery and she can only carry one of the kids. We were really worried for her and were just praying for a miracle. What happened was one of the coolest experiences of my mission. Laura's husband came back...and they showed up at church as a family. Darrel's dad got to see him and his mom get baptized. After all the struggles and challenges Laura has had, I couldn't help but just cry when I saw them all together at church. The Gospel blesses families. Hearts can be mended and changed through Jesus Christ and family relationships that were once broken can be healed. Families are eternal and the center of our Heavenly Fathers plan.

Pak John also got up and bore his testimony after being comforted in sacrament meeting yesterday. I got news that Pak Izaak Yakub (who was baptized in Malang with Sister Jibson and I) went to the Hong Kong temple!! Miricles!!! This is the greatest work, and I just can't use words to explain what I feel and I see the Lord's hand in these people's lives and in mine. There truly is nothing more fulfilling. I love my Savior, this is His work and how grateful I am to play some small part in it! Sister Akaiti will move to Solo tomorrow moring, I am training a new missionary, Sister Suyoto. She's Indonesian and is full of energy, I'm excited for the things to come! Love you so much!

Sister Reilly