This week in Jakarta was mantap! This week, we visited several members and families. We also met a lot of people on the busways that want to meet again which is great. I had one experience this week that I will never forget.
On Friday, my companion and I were going to the church in Harmoni for a lesson with an interested person and on our way there we decided to go another way. In Indonesia, when we do contacting on the busways we always separate so we can talk to more people on the bus and reach out to more people! We got on the bus and my companion went to the front of the bus and I went to the back of the bus. I got to the back and started talking to the people around me. I made eye contact with someone sitting in a seat on the other side of the bus but we were pretty far away from each other so we weren't able to talk. While I was talking to someone else, the person that I made eye contact with came up to me, tapped me on the shoulder, and said: "You are Mormon right?" I said yes... and then I asked what he knows about us and how he knows about us. He then began to tell me that he has been searching for the truth in his life and he has heard about us from his own studying. We got to know each other and talked about our beliefs. His name is Jonathon and he grew up in Australia and has lived in Indonesia for 19 years. He said that he feels like there is a reason that I got on the bus and that he felt like he should come up and talk to me. He also told me that he felt like God answers prayers in mysterious ways as he had been praying to receive a divine answer from God about the truth. I told him that us meeting was an answer to both of our prayers and that God is very proud of him for his desire to seek and find truth. I told him that I had been praying to find the people that God has prepared to receive the Gospel and that this moment truly was an answer to prayer. I then told him about what we believe and told him Joseph Smith's story and testified of the Book of Mormon. He said that he wants a Book of Mormon and that he would love to meet with us again and learn more. He told me that he was feeling really good inside and I knew that the spirit was working in him and me at that moment. It was truly a miracle. I got his number and he wanted me to write something in the Book of Mormon before we separated. He was on his way to the airport and he will be coming back to Indonesia in about 3 weeks :) I told him how happy I was and that God's hand is in our lives. He told me that he feels like this experience isn't a coincidence and I said ya I believe that this is no coincidence and that God put us both in this place right now. I know that we decided to go the other way to the church in Harmoni for a reason. The spirit was so strong and this experience with Jonathon truly was a miracle. I am so blessed and full of gratitude that I had the opportunity to be an answer to someone's prayer and help Jonathon receive the truth. I look forward to meeting with him again and sharing more about the message about Christ and the enduring joy that we can all receive as we turn to Him. I am so thankful for God's hand in our lives and that I had the opportunity to be an instrument in His hands in sharing the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ to Jonathon. I learned that there truly are people that God has prepared to receive the Gospel and that we have this amazing opportunity to hasten his work and help his children receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
A lot of the people that we talked to this week have been progressing. Michael and Helga came to General Conference this week! We watched the general conference on the 12th and 13th because we were waiting for the recording in Bahasa Indonesia!
General Conference was amazing. There were a lot of things that I loved and learned from our living prophets and apostles. I learned the importance of centering our lives on the Savior and as we strive to align our will with our Father in heaven and turn to Him during the highs and the lows he can help us experience enduring joy. He wants us to be happy, he wants us to receive the blessings that come from His Plan of Happiness and as we turn to Him and ask for guidance in our lives He will help us. He knows what we need and wants and as we pray to Him and ask with a sincerity in our hearts He will give us answers. We can receive inspiration on how we should live our lives and what our next step should be. I learned the importance of focusing on the most import things and focusing on those things that have eternal importance.
I love being here. We face a lot of rejection and sometimes have to deal with some disheartening things but we see those miracles of working hard and striving to be a little better each day. Seeing people change and come closer to Christ is worth all those hard times.
Michael and Helga are so excited to get baptized and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. We talked with them about The Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it has blessed our lives. The peace that we felt was very strong as we testified of the Savior and God's plan for all of us. I hope that they will continue to have this strong desire of following the Savior's example and that they will choose the best things over other distracting things that draw us away from the Savior, as we focus our lives on the things that matter most we will experience this enduring joy that we truly can feel. I know that these things are true! When I focus on the Savior and do the best that I can to change and become better and become the person that He wants me to become I have experienced more joy in my life. I know that as we change our perspective to the things that matter most in this life we will grow and learn as people and will experience the joy that our Father in heaven wants us to feel.
I love you all! Thank you for supporting me and for all of your prayers.
Kasih,
Elder Östhed
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