It was the best of times...

This week has had its good times and its bad times.  It has been hard because there were a lot of holidays and busy days last week, so we had a ton of appointments cancel and fall through, and it was hard to make appointments.  So we spent a lot of time sitting at the church or at home, which I hate to do.  It is hard because we can't go tracting or aggressively proselyting, we can only go to public places and try to talk to people and try to open the door to teaching them about the gospel if they are interested.  I just wish we could contact more so we could try to expand our pool of people and try to make appointments, and do something effective with our time that we don't have appointments. 

Luckily this week, we had zone conference, and I got to talk to a few other missionaries from my MTC group, and several of them are also having a hard time working things out as well, so I know that I am not alone, and that it is not just a problem with me, though I know that I can do something more to help and improve things. But it was good to talk with them and know that we are not alone, and give ideas to help each other. Hopefully we can improve.

Well, to you guys.  I want to hear more about Lake Powell!  I can't believe you didn't even tell me you were going, and barely even mentioned that you went!  But I'm glad it was a lot of fun, and I'm bummed I couldn't be there, but I know my purpose for the next two years, and that this is where I am supposed to be.  And I really am coming to love it, even in spite of how hard it has been and still continues to be.  I know that my testimony and relationship with the Savior has grown so much because of it, and that hopefully these trials are helping me to grow and prepare for the future, though I'm not yet sure how.  But I know the Lord knows, and if I do all I can to be worthy, he will help me and they will somehow be a blessing later.

Thanks for all your emails this week!  It was so great to hear from you and how you are all doing, and to hear about life.  I really do enjoy reading your emails, they brighten my day, and I really do love them.  And I love all of you!  Don't worry about me, I will be fine! Hopefully this week will go better and my companion and I can figure things out.  I know that he is a great missionary--I have seen it already and heard him talk about stories from earlier in his mission that are awesome.  So I know that we have the potential to work things out and become effective, and we have great possibilities for amazing success here--we have several amazing potential investigators.  We just need to figure out how to work together and contact and teach them all and we can do amazing things.  So, I still have faith that we can work things out, because I see the light at times.  We have some days that we are awesome together, we just need to figure out how to make them last and hold on to them and be like that all the time.  I know somehow things will improve eventually, and can't wait for it to happen.  I will keep working to get to that point, because it won't come if I just sit back and wait.

Well, sorry this email is not very informative about our week, but I am really short on time.

Oh, yesterday we went to some cool ancient Bhuddist temples, or Candi's as they are called, with the Barnards and Sisters, and that was really fun, and we got some fun pictures. I'll try to send some!

I love you all and can't wait to hear from you next week!  Thanks again for all your emails, and sorry this isn't specific to any of you, we are again a little short on time I think.  But I love you!!!

Love, Elder Wood

Back to work!

Hey everyone!!!

Well, I have recovered from my mosquito bite ... mostly!  I am still a little bit tired most all the time, but I am told that that is to be expected, and it is getting better.  

Well, at the time I don't know that I really realized how sick I was, either.  I'm not quite sure if I still know quite how serious it was, because the whole time I was in the hospital, I felt like it was stupid that I was there.  And I can't believe how expensive 5 days in the hospital in Indonesia is!  It cost over 3.2 million rupia for everything!  But if you convert that, it is only about $320 US for a 5 day stay in the hospital with doctors visits, blood tests every day, food 3 meals a day (though it was pretty terrible food and there were a few meals I couldn't even bring myself to touch...) and constant IV drip of fluids and stuff like that.  Oh, and that also includes antibiotics for the UTI I also acquired--I don't know if you heard about that yet either.  But it is getting much better now.  Haha!  I can't believe just how sick I got all at once!

But yeah, last week I started getting a fever, and when it got to nearly 104 degrees I knew something was pretty wrong.  SO we went and got the blood test and found out that I had Dengue and low platelets, and the mission doctor told me I had to check into the hospital.  So last week, I actually found out that I was so sick and going to the hospital in the middle of email time, that's why the email went the way it did.

So, in the hospital, we checked into the emergency room--I think that must just be the way things work here.  They looked at my test results from earlier in the day, put me on a bed, and started checking me over.  The senior missionary, my companion and I were the ones there at the time.  Luckily the nurse could speak enough english to ask the essential questions, and together we made the rest work out between mixed languages.  Then, the sister missionaries all showed up with dinner for us and to visit. That was super nice.

After about 3 hours in the emergency room, they took me up to my permanent room.  We (the senior missionary and I) went cheap and I was in the lowest class room (they have different classes of room that you can choose that range in cost from about $7.50 to $125 per night.  We were in the lowest class, like I said, and there were 3 other patients and their families in the room as well, and no air conditioning.  It was quite hot!  And the bed I was in looked like it was straight from a world war 2 field tent -- thin white round bar stuff.  Haha it was pretty funny, until I realized the mattress was just as old.  Elder Wiradi's foam pad on the floor was softer haha, but it was OK.    The hospital was nice I think, but I was in the oldest part.  The new $125 rooms looked (from the pictures) about like hospital rooms in America, but maybe not as sterile.  The room I was in was...older.  It was old material, and not sterilizable stuff.  All soft materials.  But I got healthier, not sicker there, so that was nice!  

I actually kind of liked being in the hospital.  Not the being sick part, or the not working, but I definitely could feel the love coming my way.  I got so many visits from the sisters (they came every day) and from so many members and investigators.  And I actually ate really well there, though not very healthy. I got a lot of treats from people, and other goodies!  I actually got a stomach ache at one point from all the delicious junk food --  like oreos! And the senior couple even found and brought me marshmallows and potato chips and chocolate--things I didn't like that much before my mission, but that I absolutely loved while there!  I could really feel the love, and the time to just rest and think was kind of nice.  I can't believe how much I slept though.  I kept thinking, "I can get so many letters written and so much studying done with all this time."  None of it really happened because I was always so tired.  But talking to the mission president and doctor every day was super nice for some reason, even though they were really short conversations.

So the doctor here,  I mean the doctor I had in the hospital ...  things are different here.  The doctor doesn't really tell the patient anything here.  SO, I really only saw my doctor once a day, and only for about 45 seconds.  He would come in and feel my stomach, listen to me breath, and then begin to leave. I had to ask him what my platelet count was and what was happening to me and when I could go home, and even getting that information was a bit like pulling teeth.  But I got it, and it all worked out. He was nice enough, but not very informative or talkative.  Which was hard for me because I wanted to know what was going on.  Apparently that is uncommon and maybe even a bit weird here.

I finally got to go home on Friday.  I had to ask if I could leave, but because my platelets were up they let me.  What a relief.  But when we got home, I almost wanted to go back to the hospital where people did everything for me, and I didn't feel bad about sleeping all day.  But it is good to be getting back to work, though still a bit slowly.  I hate that I can't ride my bike very quickly or far yet without getting so tired--I feel so out of shape!  But it is getting better.

Oh, about my bike,  Haha! So yesterday we were riding, and my seat has always had a problem with coming loose.  Well, yesterday it was loose and I hit a bump and completely broke the clip, and the saddle fell off completely.  Luckily we were close to home, but the rest of that night, and for a ways this morning before we could get to a bike shop, I had to ride standing up with no seat because it had fallen off.  But, it is better now.  I never realized how helpful it is to have a saddle on a bike until I didn't have one for a few hours.  Haha ...  the little things you don't realize are so great until they are gone.

Well, today i got my first contact all by myself on a bus!  It was so cool!  I just felt like I should talk to this guy, so I just started talking to him. Then I explained that i was a missionary and gave him a passalong card.  It had the BOM on it, and I could see him looking at it.  So I gave him a Kitab Mormon, and started explaining about it.  Then he gave me all his information--address and all, and wants to learn more!  I can actually do this by myself now!

Well, I have to end now.  But as you can tell, this has been one of, no, the hardest thing I have ever done in my whole life--serving a mission.  I don't know why it has been so hard thus far, or when it will get better and I will begin to fully enjoy it.  But I have faith that all these things are happening for a reason that the Lord knows, and hopefully that I will someday figure out.  But I know that I have already grown so much closer to my Savior and that my testimony has been greatly strengthened, and for that I am so grateful.  SO yes, it is hard, and usually at some point every day I want to quit and go home.  But I know that that is not an option, at least I won't let it be.  SO I will keep pushing on, for "Shall we not press on in so great a cause?"  Hopefully things will get better.  I think they already have begun to!  

Please know how grateful I am for each of you and your love and prayers.  I really can feel them in my behalf, and I pray for all of you too!  I love you all so much!   And please tell everyone else thank you for me as well!

Love Elder Wood!!!

Dengue Fever!

Hey!  Its so great to hear from you!  And this is the second time this week!  I got your letters on Friday Morning!  They were so great to read, and will be such a blessing to have because I can keep re-reading them whenever I want/need to!  So thank you!  

So, I know I have said it before, but the mission is truly a roller coaster with the highest highs, and the lowest lows, and it changes so quickly!  This week started out really well!  My companion and I are talking again which is super helpful because we are actually planning and I know what is going on, and I have someone to communicate with.

So last Monday for P Day we went to the Sultan Palace of Jogja.  It was pretty cool, but I had a hard time understanding what we were looking at because our guide spoke really formal language and a lot of Javanese, so even the fluent Americans couldn't understand, only the natives in our group.  But there was an investigator with us that speaks only english and Javanese and she knew a lot of the history of the place, so she helped me out a bunch, which was super nice!

After the palace, we went and met with the Bishop and had family home evening at his house.  We are trying to plan a time to watch the missionary fireside and do a special missionary fast with the whole ward to try and get members more excited about missionary work, because we really need their help and involvement to be very successful, especially here I think.  SO, we have downloaded it translated into Indonesian and are just figuring out the last few details of date and time.  I hope that this can help us get a few more investigators and member present lessons!  It should help I think!

Tuesday was a pretty average day, we taught a few lessons but had a lot of last-minute cancellations and so wasted a lot of time, which was frustrating!  But we did have our first Ward Mission Leader meeting that morning, which was nice.

Wednesday was pretty good.  We taught a 13 year old that has made the baptismal commitment, so that is exciting!  Then we taught an inactive member. Then that night, we taught two new investigators that we contacted the other day.  They were receptive and I heard one of them say that he believed it was all true, which got me all excited. But when we left, my companion told me that what he had said was he believes all religions are true.  I don't really see how that can be, but hopefully we can clear things up!

Thursday we had planning and then a lesson with an inactive member, then we had English class.  Just before English class I started feeling kinda sick.  By the end of English class I was pretty miserable. Then we helped the sisters teach a lesson afterwards to a nonmember.  He is incredibly frustrating because he wants to Bible Bash, but he uses 3 different translations of the Bible to prove different points!  Haha crazy!  But I think we are going to have to drop him, at least for a while, because now he is trying to convince us that what he believes is true.

After that, the half hour bike ride home was miserable, and by the time we got home I wanted to die!  I had a headache, full body ache, and fever.

Friday morning was more of the same, but I prayed that I could feel better to do at least a little work. Just when it was time to leave, I felt normal!  I got through one lesson with a former investigator, then felt terrible again.  I came home and slept most of the evening and night.  

Saturday morning I was sick again, but the investigator from yesterday wanted to meet again.  When it was time, i felt fine again, and we went to the church and taught him.  I gave him the baptismal commitment, and I think he is really close to accepting.  I think there is a reason I was allowed to teach him this week, and that something will come of it.  Because it truly was a small miracle that I got healthy and taught, and right when it ended, got miserable again!  Missionary blessings!

Sunday we went to church, but came home immediately after.  I slept all day.  

Today I got a blood test, and I have Dengue Fever.  Also, my platelet count is down to about 73,000.  I have had a fever of anywhere between 100 and 103 the last few days.  So, because of the Dengue and low platelet count and stuff, the mission doctor wants me to spend a night or two in the hospital, so thats where I'm headed after this!  Haha yippee, so fun!  But I'm ok, don't worry about me, I'll be fine.  Just pray for me to get healthy quickly so I can get back to work.  President Donald will also email you soon and put you in contact with the mission doctor.  But they assure me, I will be fine. They just want to make sure my platelet count doesn't drop any lower.  

Well, I gotta go, but I love you!  Thanks for everything, you are the most amazing parents and family ever!  

Love, Elder Wood

"I want to learn more!" Yogyakarta week 4

Hey! Good Morning from here in Indonesia, and Good Night to you at home!

Haha holy cow, a mission really is such a roller-coaster ride! So, this week has been pretty good overall, but it has definitely had its struggles, too!

After I wrote to you last Monday, we went and met with an inactive sister. She is really nice, but she talks a lot and I can't understand most of it because my comprehension is still pretty terrible haha! So I can get little bits and pieces here and there, but most of it is just trying to guess the main topic and what she is saying about it from a few words here and there. It gets a little bit frustrating, but it is also good because I can already tell that I understand more of what she says now than I did the first few times that we met with her.

Tuesday was good, we didn't have any appointments with investigators, so we just met with members and helped strengthen them, while at the same time practicing my language and teaching skills, so that was helpful. The only problem was that over half of those appointments cancelled, so we spent a lot of wasted time since there is nowhere close to the church where we were that we could try to proselyte in. So that was pretty frustrating. I feel like we have a lot of ineffective time here between appointments and when people cancel because we can't really go actively proselyte, and that gets pretty frustrating.

Wednesday we taught a 14 year old boy who is an investigator. He is awesome, and when we were about halfway through the lesson, we asked if he wanted to end and finish another time, and he said, “No, I want to learn more.” That was awesome! We met with him later this week, too, and he said he wants to get baptized! So awesome! He is from a part-member family (the same one that owns that awesome restaurant, so I love going there because we get awesome food every time too!) But I am super excited about that and that I think we will have our first baptism soon! Wednesday night, though, things began going a little south. During our evening planning session, I must of said something that my companion didn't like, or pushed doing something that he didn't want to do or something, and he got mad at me. It wasn't like an angry yelling mad, but he didn't talk to me for 3 days straight. No evening planning, no weekly planning, and I couldn't even really get much out of him to do companionship study. That got really frustrating to me, because throughout the next days, I had no clue what was going on, where we were going, who we were teaching, or what we were teaching about until we got there usually. Luckily, about half of Thursday was spent with the Sisters going to appointments or English class together. So that was awesome that day.

Oh, and English class was pretty amazing this week. A girl showed up that is from Portugal, and her father is from Java. She has never been contacted by the missionaries, but heard from her friends that our church is a cult and wanted to find out because she didn't really believe them. So she came. The sisters got her information and have taught her twice since. Come to find out, the other day she saw me riding my bike, and—in her words—wondered why a tall young white man dressed up nicely wearing slacks and a white shirt and tie, and very shiny black shoes was riding a bike through random areas of Jogja—she thought I looked like I could be a successful businessman or something. So she decided to follow us, and we ended up at the church. She asked her friends about it, and they told her lies, so that's when she showed up on Thursday night. She was so excited to meet with the sisters and learn more!

Later that night, the Zone Leaders showed up to do exchanges the next day. What perfect timing with how things were going! And I finally had another American Elder to talk to in English, and that I could really relate to. It was great! So Friday we went on splits, and I went with the American Elder. It was a lot of fun! Since I don't know my way around yet, we made most of our appointments at the church and taught there. One of our appointments cancelled, so we had a big chunk of time in the day to fill. We decided to go to the mall because he needed to get a few things, and said it was actually a great place to do some contacting and proselyting. It actually was. We were just looking in one store and started talking to one of the workers. She started asking questions about what we believed, and as we were talking, she called over another employee friend to learn too. They asked if we had any books or something that they could read to learn more, and so we gave them a Kitab Mormon and some pamphlets and they gave us their information to meet again! That was cool, and one of the first successful contacts I have had!

After that, we had another appointment, but this time at someone's home. I have only been there twice before, and at night, so I didn't know exactly how to find it. Long story short, we spent about an hour looking for it, maybe more. We were an hour late for the appointment, and I later found out that we were nowhere close. But, there was a good ending. Some people in the neighborhood we were lost in invited us into their home to rest for a minute. We got talking and found out they are Christian. We began to talk about church a little bit, and they invited another neighbor over to learn more, too. We shared a very quick message—it was late and we had to get home soon. But we got their contact information and their address, and they really want to meet again this next week to learn more. And it was awesome, because the neighbor seemed a little confused about some of the teachings of the Bible, and said if we had any enlightenment or new way to interpret the Bible, he would love to hear about it. I can't wait to share the Book of Mormon with him! So, although we thought we were lost, I am learning that missionaries are never really lost, they are just where the Lord has placed them.

Saturday I was back with my companion, and had no clue what was going on. In the morning, we went with the Barnards (senior couple) and Sister Sheffield and her companion to a sister's house a ways away to visit her for her birthday. That was really fun! Then we came back and taught that young boy that said he wants to get baptized, and we again had some delicious food! Then we had another lesson with an inactive member (the one I couldn't find last night). It went well, I think, but again, she talks a lot and I couldn't understand most of it. Then, we were riding our bikes somewhere—I'm not sure where we were heading, and it started to pour. Luckily we were close to home, so we went there. It was about 6:30. I thought we were just going to spend a few minutes waiting out the storm, but I found out that we were staying home for the rest of the night. Then I thought we would do weekly planning, but nope. Just a night of no talking and sitting at home wasting time. I tried to not make contention, because I am trying to smooth things over between us, but inside I was immensely frustrated because I came here to work, not to sit at home. I don't know if he was sick or not, but I was still frustrated. I tried to make time as productive as possible and do some studying, but I need to work on not getting so frustrated because it makes it hard for me to focus on what I was studying.

Sunday was church, then we took the Sacrament to 3 members not able to come to church. Two of them were with the sisters again, so that was nice because it was someone to talk to again. Then we went to teach Sister Maria again. We were trying to teach her son about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but she has a lot of questions and likes to talk a lot, so we didn't get very far. But it is OK for now I guess because it is strengthening her, and I could still feel the Spirit at various points in the lesson.

Finally last night I got a few sentences out of my comp. He actually told me what we are doing today! SO we are emailing now, then we will go to the Jogja Sultan Palace (the Kraton) with the sisters. Then we will go clean the apartment. Then we have a lesson tonight with an inactive sister and we will be teaching her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is so good to know what is going on again! And I think things between us are slowly improving! So that is great! Hopefully this week will be much better!

I love you! And I love the picture book, and so do the people we teach. It is so funny to watch them look at pictures from America and how different it is from here! And they think it is weird that we are all skinny, because here being fat is a sign of wealth and high status haha. But I love looking at the pictures and so do they!

I love you, and hope you are doing well! I love your letters each week—they are awesome! Hopefully I will get the mail ones soon, too!

Love,

Elder Jacob T. Wood

Yogyakarta week 3 -- an Indonesian 4th of July!

Family!!!  And Friends!!!

So, I just want to start off telling you that this week has been soooo much better than last week!  I can't believe how much the Lord has blessed me and answered my prayers in helping me feel more comfortable and happy here!  He is truly amazing, and I know that He understands and has already felt everything I am feeling, and He knows what I need to feel to learn and grow, and also to humble myself and to heal and become stronger!  

Thank you all for your emails and love!  You are so amazing and I love you all!  I am really sorry that my emails are often quite short and lame, I run out of time quickly here because it takes seriously like a half hour to load the email website!  The internet here is...sub-par...but at least it is here!  This time of reading your emails is one of my favorite parts of the week every week, and I will try to tell you everything.  If I can't get to it all, I will write and send a snail mail.  I have already sent one about 2 weeks ago, so hopefully it gets to you soon!

So this week started out pretty slowly.  You already know about playing futsol and stuff last Monday.  But, after that once Prep Day was over, we went back to the house because Elder Wiradi was feeling really sick.  We stayed there the rest of the night and he laid in bed miserable.  Then, Tuesday he was still sick.  We only left the house once for like a half hour to go to the INdoMart to buy a few groceries so we had some food to eat.  Then it was back to the house.  Again, he spent the whole day sleeping, so I had a lot of time to fill by myself, stuck in a little house with not much to do.  So, I spent a lot of time reading the Book of Mormon, Preach My Gospel, and the Conference talks edition of the Liahona, which we had in English, which was wonderful!  THis time was really actually a blessing, because studying the scriptures and conference talks helped strengthen me so much, increased my testimony, and brought me closer to Heavenly Father.  It also gave me a lot of time to think about what I am doing here, what I want to accomplish, and how I can best do that.  And, while I spent a lot of time thinking about family and home, it was in a good way.  I did not feel homesick, just grateful for the immense love that we have, and how close our family is and how much I appreciate that.  ANd I know that my feelings of homesickness really were not for anything other than wanting to see my family again, and those feelings only came because of how much we love each other.  I don't miss wakeboarding or any of that stuff (ok maybe a little, but not really) but I truly miss family because I love you so much!  But that is also why I am here, is to honor you and to love all of my earthly family as well, since we are all brothers and sisters as children of Heavenly Father.  I'm sure that sounds mumbled and jumbled, sorry, figure out what I was trying to say cause I don't have time to go back and edit it.  But I really do love and miss you!  But it is in a good way, and I am not miserably homesick anymore!

I also got some time to exercise, which was nice.  It is amazing how much work you can do with footwork with just a jumprope and sidewalk cracks.  Thank you whatever that class at Weber that I did with XC was called.  Oh, and if you thought I sweat bad at home, you should see how bad it is in 90 degrees and 100% humidity!  And, I got to iron shirts and pants and stuff.

Then, Wednesday he was still sick and it was more of the same all day stuck in the house, except that day we didn't leave at all!  More study, pondering, exercising, and whatnot.  And actually, long as it was, I really enjoyed it and I learned a lot from what I read and from what the Spirit taught me!  I think it was a little bit of an answer to my prayers to have that time to myself, though I hope I wasn't the reason my comp got sick! haha!

While we were home, I had bought some strawberry jelly and peanut butter and bread at the store on Tuesday.  I have never had a peanut butter and Jelly that tasted so good in my whole life!  Haha it was just the simple taste of home that I needed!

Thursday, we sort of worked, though we spent a lot of time resting at the church because Elder Wiradi was still pretty sick.  We taught one inactive member and English class, and that was it.  But after English class, all the missionaries in Jogja (the 4 sisters and E. Wiradi and I) went to a sate place (barbecued skewers) to celebrate the 4th of July because it was the closest thing to a barbecue we could get.  And Sister Sheffield bought some brownies, so we had those to celebrate too.  It was simple, but was actually really fun!

Friday we went to Solo by train for PLD (zone conference).  We met and interviewed with the new Mission President, President Donald.  He is really cool and I really like him!  Then we went and played futsol as a whole zone which was really fun!

Saturday was PLD, which was really cool and I learned a lot and felt the spirit so strongly!  I just want to become the best missionary I can be, and I need to constantly be improving, because I have a long way to go!  Then we took the train back, and by that time it was night.

On Sunday, we had 4 of our investigators come to church, which was awesome!  After, we went to Sister Maria's house for the rest of the evening and met with her and her niece and son, who are investigators who came to church.  SIster Maria told us that they really liked it, and that she would really like for them to get baptised!  So would we!  So hopefully, and I really do think it will happen!

Today was P-Day and we went to the beach with Sister SHeffield and her companion, Sister Suryani, and one of their Investigator families.  It was a lot of fun, but took a long time!  But I got some beautiful pictures!  Too bad we couldn't get in the water, but just hearing the waves crashing and being on the black sand was really nice!

Well, I really do need to go now!  Sorry I can't send pictures from here.  When I fill the memory card, I will back it up onto another one and send the card home.  IN the meantime, I will try to send a letter with some printed pictures every few weeks!

I love you and miss you, but I am also coming to love Indonesia and the wonderful people here!  I know this work is the Lord's work, and I am so grateful to be a part of it!

I love you!

Love, Elder Wood

Week 2 Yogyakarta

Hey Everyone!

Well, Indonesia is...different!  I am learning to love it here, but it is taking some time.  I won't lie and sugar coat it, these last 5 days since I arrived in Jogja have been one of the hardest 5 days of my entire life.  I have been homesick and miss you guys like crazy!  

My companion and I can communicate OK at times, but there is definitely a huge language barrier at times, and an even bigger cultural barrier, so we have a hard time sympathizing, talking about, or understanding certain things.  It is definitely very frustrating at times, but it is Ok.  I am getting over it and learning to love the place.

So, as of yet, I don't know the language, so in lessons I sit and nod my head but stay pretty quiet.  Then people will realize that I don't understand, so they will try to help but I often still can't understand, or sometimes after they simplify and repeat 4 or 5 times, I can get the general idea.  It doesn't help that here they also mix in some Javanese, which is a completely different language, so often times it is not even a language I know, mixed in with Indonesian, which makes things even harder!  But I think I am slowly beginning to understand more and more, though still very little.  But it will be a process and will take time.  I just need to accept that.

Also, everything here looks so different, so it is difficult for me to pick out landmarks to see to kind of know my way around.  So, basically I never know where we are or where we are going, so I feel quite lost and helpless.  But I think I might be able to make it from the church to our house now, which is about a half hour bike ride.  But, I don't trust myself for sure, so I won't try to do it without my companion ever!

The food...is interesting.  We had this sweet jello stuff the other night that was not reallly jello.  It was thick 'slime' with i think fruit in it, and was covered with salted coconut milk.  It was a struggle to get the whole bowl down, but the members are so generous to give us so much food!  There is stuff here that is soooo good, though!  Like, there is one member who owns what is apparently one of the most famous little homestyle restaurants in INdonesia, and the other day when we were over there teaching her son, she gave us lunch of chicken and rice, but it was different from everywhere else and was incredibly good!  Then she invited all of us over for lunch again today!  She is so nice!

Oh, so riding bikes around here is pretty fun!  THe bikes are pretty decent, but I am so spoiled at home with a full suspension.  These have no shocks and the roads are pretty rough, so my backside is pretty sore by the end of the day, because none of our appointments are ever very close together.  But it is good.  We get to weave in and out of the Indonesian traffic, and can make it through crowded streets far faster than cars, and sometimes even the scooters--which are everywhere!  I will have to re-learn how to ride and drive like a sane person when I get home!  But hey, we haven't had any accidents, so it is good.  Traffic, crazy as it is here somehow all just works!  It is really cool to see!

The other day, unexpectedly, we got a call to visit a member at the hospital.  The other bed in the room had a family around it, and the people were Christian.  We got talking, and they gave us their address so that we could come share our message with them!  It was incredible, and helped me realize that there is far more than just me and my efforts going on here.

Then, a lady found the missionaries about a week or 2 ago, and we went and met with her this week.  She has lived in America before and so she can speak English.  She has been a member for like 40 years, but has been inactive for over 20 years.  She has investigated other churches, but never felt that one was as true as the Mormon church.  She knew the church was true, just not the people that went there for a while.  But 2 weeks ago she saw the missionaries, invited us to her house, and now we are teaching her son and niece, and she wants to come back to church.  It is a miracle, and they can speak and understand English, so I can understand them and help teach them!  Which is so helpful to me, because it is also someone to talk to and understand!

Just things like that help me keep going!

Today we all went and played futsol, and it was a ton of fun!  Then we went to lunch at that lady's house/restaurant I talked about earlier, and now are here emailing on the slowest internet in the world!  So I will try to send a few pictures, but I don't know if it will work.  Sorry.  I sent a letter on wednesday with like 10 printed pictures in it, so hopefully that gets to you within the next week or two.

Truly, I don't think you know how much I have been looking forward to reading your letters this week, so thank you!  And thanks for writing snail mail, too, because then I can hold onto it and read it whenever I need a quick pick-me-up!

Well, I am probably already over time, so I have to go, but I love you so much and miss you, but I know that I am doing the right thing here!

I love you!

Love, Elder Wood

First report from Jakarta

June 23, 2013

Hey everyone!!!

It is so good to hear from you!!!  Thanks for your letters and encouragement!!!  It is really so great to hear how you are all doing and what is going on!!!

Well, Indonesia is GREAT!!!  It is so completely different from anywhere home, and anywhere I have ever really been before, even close by here!  There are people everywhere, motorcycles everywhere, garbage everywhere, and it smells...different...  

SO, sorry about the frantic phone call from the San Fran airport!  There is more to the story than just the tight connection, but I don't really have time to write it all here, so I wrote it while on the plane and will be sending a letter home hopefully later today with a little bit more information and story in it!  

But, we made it here safely and I am loving it!  We spent the first day in the mission home.  So the first day, we just went around Jakarta a little bit with the APs and all of us newbies.  Then we came back, had dinner, and went to bed.  The next day, we were supposed to head out to our temporary areas in the morning, but every single one of our bags got lost on the way here because of the connection in San Fran.  So we were stuck waiting at the mission home all day hoping our bags would be delivered.  So, we went out on a walk with Sister Groberg around the area by the house.  Then we studied...  By evening, our bags still hadn't come.  So we left to our temporary areas.  Elder Gil and I went to a city called Tangerang with two other companionships.  A wealthy member picked us up at the mission home and drove us there.  On the way, we stopped and got dinner at this expensive Chinese Restaurant and he paid for us all.  I tried fried eel, squid, chicken brain, shrimp, and some other stuff.  The eel was pretty good, and the other stuff isn't bad actually.  But I didn't much care for the squid.

The next day, we each split up into two tripansionships and went out to start doing missionary work.  The area is huge and we ride these little things called Angkots around.  They are little old suzuki vans that have benches around them, and the whole van is probably the length of a Q5 but narrower, and the other day we were in one that had 16 people crammed into it...Crazy!  But that is where we try to contact people since we cant proselyte. Most everyone is Muslim or doesn't care about the church, but they are all super nice and willing to talk, so I just start by asking if I can practice my Indonesian with them.  I can get about that far, but I can never understand their response, so I just nod my head and my companions help me out.  

We have only been able to teach one lesson in the last 3 days.  Everyone always cancels at the last minute or forgets and stuff.  It is difficult and frustrating, especially because I can't communicate or understand, and I don't know the area or the members or anything really.  So the best I can really do right now is try to talk to as many people as I can in the Angkots.  But last night (Sunday) on the way to dinner at the senior mission couple's home, I talked to a guy and gave him a Book of Mormon.  

The members here in this area are super nice, but almost too nice.  That guy that gave us a ride home the first night is our ward mission leader.  He has taken us out to eat 3 of the 4 nights we have been here.  It is nice because it is free food and it is good, but he thinks that because he is the mission leader he can break the rules for us.  So he always keeps us out late, and it is kinda stressful!  But he is a super nice guy and has probably spent like $250 U.S. on the six of us missionaries here since we got here.  That is a ton, because for lunch we can eat an extremely filling meal for about 8000 rupia, or about 80 cents.  And in other cheaper areas, you can be full off of a dollar a day.  That is eating off of the little food carts on the street or in Wartegs.  Fast food like McDonalds here is incredibly expensive for most normal people, and this Bro. Amron keeps taking us to sit down fancy restaurants.

The food here is really good!  I really like how much good food you can get for so cheap on the sides of the street.  But, it is really spicy and I end up sweating and burning my tongue off!   It always has rice, and then you can add your options.  I really like this stuff called tempe--it is fried fermented soybeans.  I know it sounds gross, but it is delicious!

I got my first bout of diarrhea this morning...  I have been lucky to avoid it for this long apparently...But, I lost about a kilo it 2 hours this morning!  Luckily it has slowed down, but I still feel weak and a little sick to my stomach.  It sounds like I need to just get used to 2 years of diarrhea :(

Everything is beautiful here!  It is so green, and I am constantly amazed!  I just keep thinking how much I want all of you to be able to come and see and experience some of this just because of how cool and different it is, and how much it has already changed my outlook on the world!  S hopefully maybe someday!

Oh, suitcases.  So, I was stuck wearing one long sleeve white shirt and my suit pants for three days straight while sweating like a dog!  Finally, on Friday evening, Brother Amron delivered one of my suitcases to the house.  Only one of mine has come so far, but the other one is still lost.  So, I have shirts and pants and shoes and P-Day clothes and like 3 or 4 pairs of garments now, but I am still missing all my books, garments, deodorant, toothpaste, and a bunch of other stuff.  Hopefully it comes soon!  But if not, I at least have enough stuff that I can live off of and buy the stuff that hasn't come over time.  I will just have to make the lost bag claim and get money from the airline.  But it will all work out I hope.

So, now for my first real area!  Tomorrow morning we go back to the mission home to get our Kitas (identity card required by Indonesia and the reason we haven't gone to our real areas yet).  After that, I go to the airport and catch a plane to Yogyakarta (aka Jogjakarta).  That will be my first area.  It is in central Java.  In that area, it will be me and my companion in a house, and then 4 sisters living across town.  My companion and trainer will be Elder Wiradi.  Apparently he doesn't speak English very well, and I don't speak much Indonesian, and we are the only 2 elders in the city.  Should be interesting.  Hopefully I will lean fast!  But I am excited!  I have heard he is a cool guy and a hard worker, and that that area is pretty successful!  And I met his family yesterday because they are in our ward here!

Well, I'm about out of time here, so I will wrap things up.  Im glad everyone was safe and still had fun on Ragnar.  That is such a bummer about Kris's truck!  I'm a little bummed you waited until right after I left to get the new car--I never got to see it, but whatever!  Haha, just kidding, I don't really care right now, I am loving the work!  I know I am missing a ton of stuff, and I apologize.  Um yeah, thats about all I can think of for right now, though and I have to go, so write any questions you have and I will try to answer them.

Oh, the elders I have been with so far (Elder Coleman and Elder Marfosa) and living with elders Rogers and Suwarsid are all really cool!  We have a good time together and I will be sad to leave them already!  

I love you so much and appreciate your love and support too!  I miss you, but in a good way! I haven't eaten dog...yet...so Rufus and Duke can still like me.  I am glad that you are doing well, and love you so much!

Oh, and apparently mail works pretty well here.  This is the address to send mail to if you ever want to:

Jalan Senopati No. 115, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan

Ok, I am not sure if that is the full address, but I know that I wrote it down for you somewhere before I left, and it is also in that blue and white missionary information book that came with my call, that I left at the house for you.

I love you and will talk to you later!

Love Elder Wood

Elder Wood with President and Sister Groberg

Arriving at the airport in Jakarta

First meal in the mission home

Elder Wood an Elder Coleman and a sister in Tangerang

Fried eel, chicken brain and shrimp ... yum yum!