Christmas was honestly such a great day. I owe it to 2 things

Another beautiful Christmas tree (at the mall)

I love you more than....

Family photo from my end of Skype call

Skype + Christmas presents + bible videos put together!

(haha made me think "I have more money than Calvin Coolidge, put together" name that movie...)

(Singing in the Rain)

Christmas Eve at "Papa Ron's
(Tuesday's are a buy 1 get 1 deal- perfect for missionaries haha)

Missionaries performed "Once there was a snowman" at the ward party

I think every missionary's highlight is the skype time. It is the best and worst thing because it was all I could think about for that whole day. (and maybe the next day hee hee) After skyping, we had a ward party, then all the missionaries watched bible videos/mormon messages until the next ward party. I honestly have never been so stoked to get home and read my scriptures! The bible videos are THE COOLEST! Christ is... perfect, but also just so wise. Every word He says is just oozing truth and the Spirit! Makes me want to be a better teacher for my investigators! Have you watched the bible videos?  Because I was honestly dying it was so cool! I ordered Jesus the Christ from the mission office and hope it comes around my birthday because I am dying to read it! Mom, I have caught the New Testament bug too. I can't learn enough about Christ's life! Let's both read “Jesus the Christ” together ok? But Christmas was honestly such a great day. I owe it to those 2 things: spending time with family (even just a little) and watching the Savior's life and ministry. Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot? (or maybe it's better to quote the other Bryan Regan one... "can you picture a better ending? Um yeah! Landing in Charlotte?! With luggage and dry socks?")

Elder Haws is in the Santa Suit (no wonder kids are afraid! That mask is aneh (weird)
Elder Hendro, Sister Manurung and I are at one of the ward Christmas parties

 

Me and Sister Manurung with one of the newer members of the Jebres ward.
She is a doll!

Hasilan (what is that in English?.... "the results") of Christmas

Before I forget! (sorry this is all over the place today) How do you make a rice bag? Like the one I use when my back is sore? I think I want to use some of the cloth bags that you sent presents in to make one here. Back to my email...

 

At the house of a new member before Christmas time

We have had such a great week! We had an investigator come to the ward party and said he will come to church next week too. We hope that he will be baptized before the end of January. (He is 81 but like in a Grandpa Sheffield "still acts like a 60 year old" kind of way). We have been trying to find some new investigators and praying to know who to talk to this week. We met one man after walking around the streets for a little while who is Muslim, but was very nice to us and said we could come back next week. And then the next day we met a family.

 

Tried out my camping stove "oven" and it was delicious

FUNNY STORY! So white washing and both being new has it's up's and down's. Maybe 2 weeks ago we were looking for an inactive member and here in Indonesia they don't have addresses, just areas really. So we were asking around to find this man, then when we got to their house, no one was home so we left our card and an invitation to the ward Christmas Party with a note. A few days ago we went back to this house to meet with the inactive member... well surprise surprise- it was a man by the exact same name but definately not a member! But what a miracle coincidence! HE IS CHRISTIAN! His whole family! And they were kind to let us in and were obviously curious after we left them these notes last week haha. We ended up leaving a pamphlet and they said we could come back. 

 

Is this a funny story?
We got locked IN our house before service last week!
We had to have someone saw off our padlock

We still haven't found that inactive member, but we are excited at the fact there ARE people to teach in Indonesia. Maybe not even these two potentials but if we could find these two people, of course we will find others as well. We also got 2 referrals from people this week. Note to all those who read this at some point or another: give missionaries referrals. It makes it sooooooo much easier for us and you will feel so much better inside once you do. Promise!

 

I have been craving this for so long... Nasi Padang
which is typical food in Medan Indonesia

Hope that New Years is a blast (and have fun with the grown-ups this year mom haha). This is my last email as a 19 year old. GILA BANGET! (so crazy!)

One last funny thing! When I was little I remember playing Barbies and always saying I was a 20 year old named Stacy. Well here I am, about to be 20, and my name is different, starts with an S, but is definitely not Stacy ha-ha. I think my 20 year old self is a much better version than I could have imagined back in those barbie doll days. I have grown up so much on my mission. And even though I am apprehensive to hit my 20's GILA BANGET! I know that I am living the life right now. The more I learn, the more I realize how much more there is to learn. The more I serve, the more I realize how much more I should be doing. Now don't be scared by missionary perspective but everything seems to focus on life after the mission, specifically marriage. But I am so excited to be a mom someday. I'm gonna cry just thinking about it! Having a little family, in a little house, just doing those little things to bring light and strength into our home. THAT is 20 year old grown up perspective. I love riding my bike more than walking or sitting. I love fish and spicy food (but still not shell fish). I'm fluent in another language and now working on some Javanese. I am a missionary. Does that sound like a 20 year old or what? 

Proof of my hospital visit, but feeling a lot better now

I love you all so much and can't wait to share all of this with you someday. Until then, keep reading your scriptures, clean your rooms, eat lots of roast/potatoes for me on my birthday and remember what the ultimate goal is: Exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom! Woot woot! That is going to be a great Sheffield party!

WOW! I am so excited about all your Christmas presents! Excited for the bikes because I want to go riding with you all, excited for Joshua because I know that feeling :), excited for the guitar because now Andrew can help me learn, excited for Dad's upgrade because now I can have a I-don't-get-this-technology-friend when I come home! Speaking of Dad- yes I actually just heard that fact about Indonesia a few weeks ago! The people in Indonesia don't even know that their home is one of the reasons we have Christ's true church on the earth again! They'll see it someday. [editor’s note: A volcanic eruption in Indonesia caused ash to fill the air and contributed to crop failure where Joseph Smith’s family resided. As a result, they left the area to live in Palmayra, where he would later find the gold plates.]

And I have been emailing a little with Sister Montierth (haha so weird to call her that). I am sorry to hear about Merlene, but also grateful for the time I knew here on this earth and happy for the chance she has to be active in the work again in heaven! 

Tresna tansah, (javanese for love always)

Sister Emily Adelaide Sheffield

Selamat Natal
Merry Christmas

Sent Dec 23, 2013

Celebrating Christmas in the mission is really weird, (especially in a Muslim country) I'll admit to that... but this is the one time that I feel like I really am able to focus on the meaning. I feel at times inadequate to wear the name of Christ and represent him so directly, but the more I study about His life and His birth, the more impressed I am that Christ loves us so much. He gave His life --and everything He has-- and we, as imperfect persons, are the recipients of that greatest gift. We have every opportunity to achieve the greatest glory in heaven. Christ's birth brought that hope and peace and light to the world. The best Christmas present ever, don't you think?

Ok ok ok mission cheesiness, but I am so grateful for the friendships/memories with you all. I don't have enough p-days to write it all out. So don't feel like I am ignoring you individually by sending this to everyone- each of you has helped me at some point in my life or mission and I just wanted to thank you! Hope that you have been nice this year and Santa still drops by :) If not... well that's why we have the Atonement! so hurry and do some repenting because it is almost Christmas! Lots of love!

Selalu,

Sister Sheff

So we are finally in Solo

Dec 15 2013

I love you more than...hot chocolate with coconut creamer in a little red mug!

Who sang with MoTab this year? I always love their Christmas concerts :) This is random but I've been trying to think of Christmas songs and have been humming some while I ride my bike but seriously a llllll that I can think of are about home! “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”, “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”, “Blue Christmas”, “I Cry the Day that I Take the Tree Down”, “Oh There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays”… aren’t there any that don’t talk about wanting to be home? I can’t remember! Sheesh my brain is so mean to me sometimes.

Indonesian cultural dances for the Knorpp's farewell party.
All the kids who can do a "peace sign" basically get a $2 bill

So we are finally in Solo! There are 4 wards here between the 2 buildings. Since there are only 2 sisters, we cover allllll 4 wards. But luckily there are 4 sets of elders… well 3 actually since one set moves tomorrow and no one is coming to replace them. Since we are “white washing” (we are both new) and there are 4 wards, it has been a little hectic. We get lost all the time (there are just too many 1 way roads here!) and it is hard to keep track of what investigators are in what ward, what members are in what ward, when all the meetings are for the ward mission leaders/ward council/sacrament meetings in each ward. 

Me in front of our lil' house

The house is extremely small. Basically the bedroom and a hallway haha but it takes like 5 min to sweep the whole house! I think we’ve actually adjusted pretty well here. I’m feeling a little bit of the flu again but pray it goes away so we can just get some teaching this week. Sis Manurung is the best! She is so cute especially since she can’t really ride a bike…. Haha poor thing. I think I almost killed her the other day when we were on our way to an appt. and it was uphill and raining. But she is so determined and so willing. I always forget that she is new! I forget to explain things sometimes because I feel like she is already an old hat in the mission.

View from the fridge to the bathroom
(it's a mess because there is not place for the washing machine hoses)

View from the fridge to the front door/desks
My desk is the one you can see.

One good thing about being in 4 wards is that we get spoiled with Christmas parties! Haha oh and the mission couple here, The Knorpp’s, go home tomorrow! So we have gone to 2 farewell parties for them. Last week we didn’t get a lot of teaching done but we are still learning how Solo works. It is nice that we both don’t know so we really have to rely on each other.

Me and Sister Manurung at a service project

OOOOhhh one cool thing! SO the other day we went to get some dinner and I picked this Sate place and we were already done eating just sitting there and I thought , “talk to this family sitting next to you” so I tried to ask how old their toddler was and when the mom answered, I realized she was deaf. And the dad too! So I got all sorts of excited and tried sign language with them. Oh my sign language is terrrrible haha. But I am so grateful that Heavenly Father gave me the gift of tongues in that moment to use American Sign Language in Indonesian! So they were pretty enthusiastic that I knew ASL and I was from America. They have 4 kids who are all hearing and the oldest daughter was helping us communicate so we asked her if she wanted to come to English and she was pretty excited about it. Well that’s only half of it because at the exact same time we had just gotten a message from an investigator who is also deaf! Her story is that she had a baptismal date but had to cancel when her muslim dad told her never to go to church again. So I was speaking with one deaf family while texting another deaf investigator! Looks like I need to brush up on my ASL :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

All of the members here in Solo know me as “that one sister who sang in Jogja” because of my solo from Ward Conference last month so I have already been asked to sing a lot and accompany a lot and I even taught the primary kids Hujan Jatuh di Tanah (Rain is falling all around) yesterday. I was wrong to think at the beginning of my mission that I wouldn’t get to use my talents!

First/last district photo before 4 of them leave

So I got your packages last week at Senopati and have already put up the Christmas tree! And thank you for the conference issue! It still hasn’t come in English here, so I am spoiled.

So I have been thinking a lot about spiritual gifts. What are my spiritual gifts? I think it is hard to ponder about what you’re good at as a blessing from Heavenly Father. And it is a little more personal. But I really am grateful for the ability to use the language here. I feel that I still have so far to go but I know that Heavenly Father made my language grow leaps and bounds. I am also grateful for flexibility. I have been thinking about a few others but maybe I won’t share them. I want you all to think about the spiritual gifts that you have been given to use in the hour you most need them.

I am so excited for Christmas! It really doesn’t feel like Christmas but maybe that is good so I don’t think about it too much. But just this time of year, when so many people think about their Savior; His life, His birth. It feels so good just to think about the light He brought into the world that we are trying to share with these Indonesian people. I get warm fuzzies!

Random but cool; The guy sitting in front of me on the plane had 6 fingers on his right hand!
Where is Inigo Montoya and Westley when you need them.

When you talked about what it going on at home, Haha it’s funny you said that I’ve “been there done that”. Because it just is funny that everything is exactly the same! Recitals, dances, Choral Edition, gingerbread houses for publications and jumping in the river…

OK! So for skyping on Christmas! We are allowed to skype on the 24^th, 25^th, or 26^th for an hour…. I think that in my time Christmas morning or anytime the 26^th would work. So for you that would be either Christmas eve, Christmas night or morning of the 26^th.

Oh and that reminds me, HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!! One year older and wiser too! What are you going to do on your birthday

I love you guys! Have a very merry Christmas break! Sing some Christmas carols for me!

Kasihmu selalu!

Sister Shef(in the)field

PS I wanted to send this a while back to put under the Christmas tree in our box… but this year my gift to Christ is that I will try to better recognize and follow promptings of the spirit.

Let's play "where in the world is Sister Sheff"

Dec 8 2013

Mengasihi kalian lebih banyak dari pada... (Love you all more than...)‏

Reeses! (Sis Sperry shared with us the other day and WOW I forgot how good those are!)

So right now we are playing a game of "where in the world is SIs Sheff". Where am I?

 

First picture with Sis. Manurung

I am in Jakarta emailing from a warnet with the other Jakarta sisters after spending the last weekend with them and the Sister Trainers and apparently we will still be in Jakarta until Wednesday before transferring to Solo! When I got to the mission home late Thursday night, they said I actually had to renew my kitas, so I would be staying until Monday but then no one really knew the plan and so we have been shuffled around like baggage between the poor sisters haha. They have to bring us everywhere and we have no hp (cell phone) and no clue about Jakarta so we just follow them around. BUT I have loved being here. It brings back soooooooo many memories from my first week in Indonesia. I'm sleeping in the same places, visiting some of the same people... the only difference is that now I can understand and enjoy what is going on!

So many Christmas trees in Jakarta! Here it really does feel like the Christmas season

This transfer has been crazy because there was one sister who went home before the others and new sisters/elders who came in 2 weeks before the other missionaries go home and people who need to renew their visa's... so these three weeks there are transfers, exchanges and threesomes and I'm sure lots of headaches for the poor people at Senopati who have to buy all the plane tickets! But we will get to Solo eventually. 

We're taking pictures with every tree possible

Last pday we played futsol which I loved! I maybe get too intense though haha. Then we ate at a member's restraunt. The best part about moving is that everyone gives you presents (or ask YOU for presents haha) but this member gave me a skirt that doesn't fit... yet! haha. Other highlights were when we ordered KFC and had a mini FHE at the house. That night though we found out that there are mice that can get into the laundry room from the ceiling. Weird how the mission makes you so chill about stuff like that though.

 

Ajidharma family

Tuesday we went out to visit The Ajidharma family and teach a new investigator. (I also got your letter with Jackson and Nicole's emails). 

Wednesday was my last day in Jogja but I was thinking it would be just a normal day and that I wouldn't get to say goodbye to the district, but Sis Believe surprised me with a "goodbye party" at McDonalds with the district. Haha seriously McD's is like a treat here and I am a sucker for their dipped ice cream cones. It was a good day because we had a good english class, a good lesson with Pak, with Sis Tjandra and taught a new contact. Also drowned one of the mice that we caught in the cage. I got donuts, a fan, a little purse and a santa hat. I'd say it was a good last day in Jogja!

 

Last meal as Jogja district at McDonal's

Thursday we finished packing just in time to get to the airport. Sis Allred and I talked the entire drive, flight and drive again to Senopati. I'm going to miss being with her! Then we waited for Sis Jibson to get to Senopati and then talked until lattttte night (aka 12 but don't tell president haha... mission life= midnight is way late)

Friday morning we went on a run with the new sisters from Indonesia and America. Then after quick traning, SIs Allred/Jibson and left and we went out with the Jakarta sisters.

Saturday we spent with the Sister Trainers, Sunday with the Jakarta Sisters. 

(Sorry i'm typing fast because I have to go get my kitas RIGHT NOW)

Highlights were the primary program in the Indonesian ward and visiting the English ward. I forget what english ward manners are! We visited one of the members from the english ward last night and it was funny to get a glimpse of what an english mission would be like. But anyways I am loving this time with Sis Manurung, even though it has been a little scattered.

She is 19, from Tangerang and her whole family was baptized when she was 13. (Fun fact for ya: her older brother helped teach sister Manalu the gospel!) We will hopefully get to Solo on wednesday and start our work with the people out there. I LOVE YOU ALL! I hope you have the best week. I loved the pictures and the email too. Always praying for you. Read the BOM every night and you can't go astray.

SIS SHEFF

PS MY NEW COMPANION IS A DOLL! She is wonderful, amazing, beautiful, sweet and smart

I'm so lucky!