As we were walking out of the apartment to go to district meeting I happened to notice these ducks and the white bird that appears to be some kind of egret…I must get a book of Florida birds. It is a bonus to have this wildlife near our apartment.

District meeting is always a treat because we get to share the testimonies and spirit of the young missionaries. We have found the two we have been to well organized with excellent teaching and meaningful role playing that help the missionaries better prepare to teach the gospel. Fort Lauderdale district has a three some of sister who today got to teach us. L-R are sisters Holder, Mills and Hong. Each of them bubbled over with joy and the spirit as they got so into teaching that it became very real. It was a joy to see them automatically take turns bearing testimony of what they were teaching. Hooray for Israel!

 

Christmas brings massive amounts of mail into the mission office and Mary spends a good deal of her time dealing with letters and packages. At this time of the year, the post office sends a special delivery of just large packages each day. Later the regular mail deliver brings a large stack of regular mail and smaller packages. Each piece must be re- routed to the address where the missionary is living and then taken to the main post office to be delivered. Yesterday we made two trips to the post office – one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Missionaries need to get the letters and packages as soon as possible. They consider it kind of like manna from heaven.

The other two pictures are of the Plantation chapel where we go to church. Once the Weston/Pembroke Pines chapel is repaired we will go there. Our guess is that is not going to happen before June of next year. So for now the two wards that are usually in that chapel meet together here. Notice the pond in front. It is so there is not standing water everywhere. No swimming or fishing is allowed here or in the canal across the street. There was an alligator spotted in the canal and this keeps down the desire of children to escape the heat by swimming in it.

Today we received this letter from one of the young members in Indonesia who we had the joy of having in our Intensive English class and how she is now teaching English. It also tells how she did not let adversity stop her – she is a great young woman and leader in the Church.

sister pier,

i am doing good. The english course is getting bigger. 6 month ago i started with only 2 kids, now we have 11 elementary students, 9 junior high students, and six adults in conversation class.  I am soooo blessed. 2 months ago, i lost almost all my students, because a very bad rumor. The rumor said that i taught my students about church, and encourage them to join to our church. All the students parent were angry with me. But, all is well now, i made an open house, and held i meeting with all the parents. Some of them were back, but some of them,didn’t. But then i made a new brochures, and went to every schools in my area, stand in the front of the school gates, share the brochures to every student, and….. got more new students. Aaaaaaand, i didn’t know that there is a company close to one of those schools, two of employees of that company found the brochures ( not all the students paid attention to my brochures, almost of all them just threw it away), and asked me if i have conversation class. I said i don’t have yet, but i will hold it if they want. So, we have a conversation class with 6 adults students( those 2 employee, bring their friends).

 So, i believe that when God close one door, He leads us to the another door, if all the doors are closed, He will open the window, if He close all the doors and the windows, it means, there is a storm outside and He wants me to be safe and warm inside. All i need to do is doing my best to find the door and the window…. and to believe in Him.

 I hope someday i will have my own english course. The english course is not mine. My friend own this, and i  hold and take care of this, and we share the profit.

I also have a small online bussines, well, i am learning interner marketing, hehehehehehe. Hopefully i can get enough money to buy my own computer ( i am in half way to go there, yeaaaah!!!!!!), so i don’t need to go to warnet.

I also have a small bussines with sister judy vandongen, may be you know her. She got a lot of order for hot pads, and she gives some order to me. So i sew the hot pads and send to her.

I also have a little batik bussines, i buy batik clothes from jogja, and sell them here in bekasi.

And, i am also busy being a wife, my most favorite job of all.

Sooo, that is my life, for now, hehehehehe, i don’t know in the future what i am going to do…. may be i will have another bussines, heheheheehehehe.

xoxo

vita mongula

We also received today a video from a young man who Mary taught piano to in South Africa showing him playing Church hymns. He will soon be putting his mission papers in and his talent is sure to be used wherever he serves.What joy things like this brings to our lives as we see the small seeds we got to plant grow and bear fruit years after we have left.