I'm really bad at creative email titles, sorry

Okay, you want to know what my life is like write now?  I'm sitting in a dark internet cafe, surrounded by a bunch of kids/teens/adults playing their video games and SOMEONE'S LISTENING TO  JAPANESE MUSIC, and I am so content with my life right now.

also, life is great because KIREI GOT BAPTIZED YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  She's literally so wonderful and perfect and amazing.  She honestly taught herself,  she was so so so prepared to hear the wonderful message of the Restoration, and I'm so blessed that I had the opportunity to serve here in Bogor and meet her.    Not  much happened the rest of this past week, just trying to teach and find as many people as we can.  The language is coming a bit easier every single day, it's a miracle,  I TAUGHT GOSPEL PRINCIPLES CLASS AGAIN.  I don't even feel like I'm training anymore as a new missionary on the field, it's pretty awesome.

I do want to share a spiritual thought this week.  So, all of my life I thought my testimony was pretty decent,  I thought I knew the gospel, I thought my knowledge was pretty average for a typical Mormon girl.  I've partaken of the Sacrament every week since I can remember right?  I thought I really really knew the meaning of why we go to church, why we have to partake of the sacrament every week etc... But this week I learned a whole new meaning of how amazing and special and what a privledge it is to be able to partake of the ordinance of the Sacrament every single week.

So, as a missionary, I try to my best ability to teach by the spirit and invite my investigators to come unto Christ, through Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement.  Why do we need to have faith?  Why is it so important?  To me,  having faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement is the only way I can make it through this life!  I truly believe that my Savior loves me and have complete confidence and trust in Him.  Faith leads to repentance,  the word repentance used to scare me when I was younger, but repentance is a literal gift from our Heavenly Father.  Repentance doesn't mean we have to be perfect, but when I have faith in Christ I want to become like Him and because I'm farrr from perfect, I have to repent everyday.  Repenting means changing my thoughts and actions and align them with God's will, it's not easy, sama sekali, but we CAN become better week by week because we are baptized and have received the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  Now, as each week comes to an end and we get ready to go to church, we're not just "going to church" to go to church. (lol sorry sounds weird)  as we keep continuing to build and strengthen our faith in Christ and repenting of the mistakes we make each an everyday we prepare to take the Sacrament.  

The ordinance of Sacrament is literally an ordinance, we promise Heavenly Father that we will take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ,  what does that even mean??  I'm still trying to figure it out, but I think it means we continue in our faith, and we BELIEVE in Him, we try to develop His attributes and strive to follow Him the best we can,  we promise to Heavenly Father that we will ALWAYS remember our Savior,  always remember what He has done for us PERSONALLY,  Christ suffered for YOU and because of that, He knows and understands EVERYTHING, that you feel every single day.  And then we promise to keep His commandments, pretty simple.   But the amazing thing with our Baptismal Covenant is that GOD PROMISES US, that we will ALWAYS have His spirit to be with us.

THIS IS WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO PARTAKE OF THE SACRAMENT EVERY WEEK, the spirit is what CLEANSES US from our SINS AND MISTAKES,  When I see my wonderful investigators enter into the waters of baptism, it's not the water that takes away their sins, it's when they're "baptized by fire"(some where in the BOM)  and receive the Holy Ghost,  the Holy Ghost SANCTIFIES US, and THAT'S how we retain a remission of our sins.  WHAT? THAT'S AMAZING!!!  We can continually be clean and worthy to live with god again every single week.  The doctrine of Christ is such a blessing, it's such a gift, all we have to do is FOLLOW CHRIST,  yes it's not easy, but each and every week, little by little we can become.  We can become better people, better siblings, mothers, fathers, friends, and children of God. 

I don't know why it's taken me 20 years to finally understand that...  But I'm grateful for the knowledge that I have, and I know that this church is really the Church of Jesus Christ.  I know that our Savior lives, and I know that our Heavenly Father is real.  And both of them love you and want you to be the best you can.  Being a missionary is so awesome.  Have a nice week! (: 

1)  Kirei's baptism!! <3 

2) and again

(oohhhh  my goodness, we have soo many videos that I want to send to yall, but they take like an hour to load.)  One video is a KITTEN that walked into our house (the cats here are NASTY, it's so sad, theyr'e  starving adn their sick and you can't touch em)  SO THIS POOR KITTEN COMES STROLLING INT OOUR HOUSE AND IT'S LEG IS BROKEN AND IT'S SO HUNGRY AD WE HAD TO LEAD IT OUT OF THE HOUSE AND THEN SHUT THE DOOR ON HIM.  if you know me. you KNOW that i cried my eyes out..  there's a hilarious video that hopefully i'll be able to load one day.  So there's your funny story from this week! (: