The spirit is the KEY!

This week flew bye! Awesome week! This week we had zone conference and it was so good! My favorite thing was a challenge President Donald gave us, a while ago he challenged us to give the baptismal commitment in the first lesson, and this week he challenged us at the end of lessons to ask if we can kneel and pray with our investigators and ask them to pray and ask Heavenly Father right then if our message is true, then when we are kneeling to read a scripture, either D&C 8:2, Moroni 10:4 or 2 Nephi 31 where the Savior says "follow though me..." I love D&C 8:2... 2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. 

Me and my companion have been doing this and the spirit is so strong! When our investigators truly have a desire to know the truth, and pray with a sincere heart, their prayers will be answered. I think one of the biggest things I have learned on my mission is the power of praying with faith. God lives and he hears us. He loves us and wants to bless us, as we humble ourselves and turn to Him, he will pour out blessings upon us. The spirit is the key to everything we do everyday as missionaries, I have never felt God's love for me and His children more in my life, I love my mission and I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve my Father in Heaven! I love you all!! 

Love, 

Sister Reilly

The last picture is frog...yum!

Great week!

Great Week!! I am going to be honest, my first maybe 5 days here I was a feeling little bummed because I left Malang where we had so many awesome things happening, I was just so happy there and then I moved to Jogja where we only had 2 semi-progressive investigators and not much going on, but I was also just excited to help get the work going here. I don't think I've seen so many miracles in one week before! My companion and I have just been fasting and praying that the Lord would lead us to those who are ready to receive the gospel and He did just that! Some of the first couple days here were probably some of the longest days of my mission so far, just proselyting like crazy...but it payed off! We were led to people who honestly understood our message and felt the truth of it. We went from 2 semi-progressive investigators to 6 people with a baptismal date! Yesterday testimony meeting was so amazing, the members here are so awesome and the spirit was so strong, all of our investigators that came to church felt it and felt something different about our church. I know this church is the Lords church and we cannot be afraid to open our mouths and share it with everyone. Don't stop someone else from being saved because you are too afraid to open your mouth and share this truth with them :) Invite all to come and partake of the fruit! I love being a missionary so much, there is nothing better than the feeling that comes when we share this gospel with others and see it change their lives. If you want to truly be happy, forget about yourself and go serve others!

I love these scriptures from Mark 10... 

29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,

30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses,and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands,with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

43 ...but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:

44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

I know that is true, as we give up things for the Savior, we are blessed an hundredfold and If we truly want to be great, we should be servant to others.I love my mission and I love you allll!

Love,

Sister Reilly

{Ps. this is from one of Sidney's personal letters to her dad}

Check out this email I got this week...pretty cool! 

Hi Sister Reilly,

Do you remember that girl you sat by on the plane, when you were heading to Indonesia from Salt Lake? You were just leaving the MTC, I believe...well, hello again. It's me. Luckily since our sisters know each other I was able to kind of track you down. In the least creepy way possible:)

I actually have really been wanting to write you for a while. When I last talked to you, I'm pretty sure I told you I was an inactive member of the church. At that time, I was farther from the church and from God than I had ever been. I was going through some hard things. And I remember seeing you and the other missionaries. And seeing how happy you guys were... I wanted that. A little over a month after I talked to you, I ended up returning to the church. I changed everything in my life that didn't align with the gospel. And I am so happy because of it. I am so grateful. I feel so guided. And I feel so blessed. Which brings me to....I just turned in my mission papers! I thought that'd be cool for you to know and for some reason I really wanted to tell you! I am unbelievably thrilled to be a missionary. It's all I think about. Time cannot possibly move slower right now. But I cannot wait to serve and share the gospel.

I hope you're doing really well! I hope your experiences as a missionary are being so rewarding. I did just want to tell you that you played a part in bringing me back to the church. Even though I only talked to you for an hour, somehow you were a great influence. Like a planted seed. Thank you for that! Good luck in Indonesia Sister Reilly! I wish you the best! Stay safe!

Sincerely,
Angelica

Jogja!

I'm in Jogja! So different from Malang! It is a lot more of a big city than Malang and it is very very hot, but I love it already and I know I will love it just as much as I love Malang! The work here has been pretty slow here lately, but I'm excited about getting to work here and find people who the Lord has prepared! President Donald really wants to see this ward split into two and I know we can make it happen! The members here are really awesome and I'm excited to get to know them all better and work together with them here. Today we are going to go play footsal with the members and other missionaries, footsal is so fun, I love it! We've been trying to find people like crazy these first few days and we've already met some awesome potential investigators..Can't wait to see miracles here in Jogja!! I have the best mission in the world :) 

So sweet!

My last time with Pak Yakub and Brayen! They love the temple and promised us they are going there!

My new comp!

Love you!

Dengan segenap hati,

Sister Reilly

Arema for life!

I'm moving from Malang...! I can't believe I'm leaving Malang, I feel like this is my home and the branch here is like my family. I will miss it so much and I will never forget the miracles I have seen here. Yesterday there was branch counsel and it was amazing to see how much the branch has changed and grown. The members have caught the spirit of missionary work and I love it! I know that the Lord called me to serve here and he has called me now to serve in Jokja and I am going to serve Him with everything I have wherever he calls me. I can't wait to see more miracles in Jokja and allow the Lord to use me as His instrument in finding, teaching and baptizing there! This week has been super busy and awesome! Pak Yakubs whole family had a party and invited us over. Almost everyone of his siblings asked us to come to there house this next week and we are so excited! They have 6 kids in the family who are all married and have families and we will be teaching 4 of the 6 families! So exciting! Also, Ibu Ari has been inviting her husband to learn with us and he started this last week. He wants to be baptized with her! We moved to baptism to the 8th of June for them together. He smokes and drinks a lot of coffee, but I know he will be ready! I'm so sad I will not be able to see them be baptized, but I am so excited for them and love them so much! Yesterday we went out to Lia's house (recent convert who was baptized with Sister Suryani and I). Her whole family is Muslim and her mom has been super sick. Lia asked if we could come and have the Elders give her a blessing. It was really cool! Lia is so solid! She rides the bus 2 hours by herself every Sunday to church and now has a calling in the nursery, she's doing so awesome! Ah, this work is so great. These have been the best 6 months of my life, there really is nothing better! This church is true. I know that more than I know anything else. I know that God the father and His son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith 200 years ago and restored the true church to the Earth through him. I know that he is a prophet of God and that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God who lives today. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. ANYONE who reads it with a sincere heart and asks God if it is true WILL come to know it is true,I promise that and I invite all to know of these truths! This gospel is the way to true happiness in this life and eternal life in the life to come. Enter in at the straight gate! I am so blessed to be able to spread this message to the people of Indonesia! I love you all!

3 Nephi 27: 33 "And it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these sayings he said unto his disciples: Enter ye in at the strait gate; for strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it; but wide is the gate, and broad the way which leads to death, and many there be that travel therein, until the night cometh, wherein no man can work."

Love,

Sister Reilly

TRUTH

Well this will be short because I just got to skype with the greatest fam ever, but it was an amazing week! Yesterday Brayen, Pak Yakubs son was baptized and it was a great day! Pak Yakub gave his testimony as the baptism and cried when he talked about how grateful he was so have been able to find the truth! Also, our golden investigator, Ibu Ari, stood up in gospel principles yesterday to introduce herself and said she had found what she has been looking for her whole life in this church! Such an awesome day and such an awesome work! I love a talk that Elder Holland gave about missionary work and the atonement...this is one quote from it..."I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are the Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him?" Missionary work is not easy, and life is not easy, but the Saviors life was not easy either. I don't care how hard it is or how many times we get let down as missionaries because I know there are people searching for the truth, looking and hungering for it and I will go through anything to find them and help them come unto their Savior, Jesus Christ. 

I love you! ;)

Love,

Sister Reilly

I believe in miraclesss

Such a sweet week! We met some of the most awesome people this week that have seriously been prepared to meet us! I saw more miracles this week, then Brayen, Pak Yakub's son, is going to be baptized next week and we are hoping that three of our other investigators will be baptized on the 18th! Also, the first counselor in our branch president's wife is not a member and he has been pretty against missionaries teaching her, but we have been visiting and just serving her because they just had a baby boy and now we are starting to teach her and her whole family also, it's great! There are so many awesome things going on in Malang! Sometimes the best way to open someones heart to the gospel is just serving them first! Three specific people we met this week were Pak Christian and Ibu Ari and her husband Pak Momon. Best first lessons EVER! They were so prepared to hear our message and searching for the truth and willing to act. We are so excited about them! And the crazy thing with both of them was that if we hadn't been in an exact place at that exact time we never would have bet them. It is so crazy how the spirit is able to guide us in this work. When we teach by the spirit, we don't have to think about what we are going to say, but what we are supposed to say just comes out and the spirit is able to testify to the investigators of the truthfulness of our message. Our story with Pak Christian is the biggest miracle of my mission so far, but I will tell you guys when I skype you! This work is the best! Indonesia is the best! My mission is the best and you guys are the best! I love you!

Okay one funny story from this week...one of our investigators who is Muslim, Ibu Sumatya took us to the Muslim school where one of the kids she Nanny's for goes to school because he wanted to meet us. She had us wait outside while she went and got him. She kept looking around and me and Sister Jibson were wondering why and then suddenly she pulled out a jilbob (the things they wear to cover thier hair) from her purse and stuck it on really quickly and then turned to us and told us you had to wear one to get into the school, then she went in, got the kid, and took it right off haha...classic!

Selamat Siang!

Dengan segenap hati,

Sister Reilly