November 3rd, 2013

Selamat siang!

Over Halloween, my district met up with all the districts in the Surabaya region. Surabaya is on a different island than Manado so we had to fly 3 hours to get there. Surabaya is on the island Java and is on the Eastern side.It is supposed to be the hottest area in the whole mission! But we were lucky with good weather and rain so we were blessed! Our meeting was called a PLD. This PLD was special because Elder Gong from the Quorum of the Seventy was there. We prepared all month for this meeting and we were so excited to meet Elder Gong. He taught a ton about the Atonement and about stakes in Zion. The spirit was so strong and I was able to feel and remember what it was like when I first gained a testimony of the Atonement years back. He specifically mentioned the word "tremble" and that Jesus trembled from the pains and sufferings. Elder Gong brought in the sprit so strong and I am glad we had this amazing opportunity with him. We were all introduced to him and he talked and had lunch with us as well. One cool thing that I learned from Sister Gong was that if you are called to serve in the Seventy, you are to fulfill that calling until you are the age of 70 years old. So Elder Gong has served since he was 56 and now he is 60 years old and has 10 years to go. But she also said there are some who are 45 and get called! That's a lot of service! Elder Gong is over all of the asia region except for korea japan and the philippines i think. But he covers half the world's population! 3.5 million! Just him and his wife! So he is traveling all the time everywhere! I am so grateful for the opportunity to meet with him personally and talk to a leader in our church. I know this gospel is true and my testimony is growing continually in this mission. My companion, Elder Taulu, is awesome and we are great friends. I have learned so many things from him and I am so blessed to have such a good companion as my trainer. I know that we are called of God to serve where we are called and that we are serving our brothers and sisters wherever we are. I attached a couple photos of Elder Gong and my companion and I. Thanks for the love and support!

Elder Litster