Adam Headrick served as missionary in Indonesia

Staff report

WARREN

In August 2013, Adam Headrick was preparing to spend the next two years as a missionary in Indonesia for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The primary religion in Indonesia is Islam, Headrick said, but there are some Christian churches.

Headrick spent six weeks at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, for orientation and learning the Indonesian language. “I didn’t speak Indonesian very well until I got there,” he said. “They have many different dialects. What you study isn’t the same.”

Indonesia has many different groups of islands, and every tribe has its own beliefs and traditions, its own dialect, he said.

“I mostly saw the Javanese culture,” Headrick said. His assigned areas were all on the island of Java. “The people were very friendly and very kind,” he said. “But religion is a sensitive topic there.”

He said whenever the missionaries go into a community, they visit the leaders and ask for permission to be there and to hand out pamphlets and Books of Mormon. Most of the time they were allowed and were treated well, he said.

Headrick said the missionaries also taught free classes in English. “Our classes were very well-attended, sometimes 20 to 30 people. We always opened with prayer and shared a spiritual thought. They love to learn English. It is rough for them because the English in their school books is wrong.”

The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, comparable to the Bible, Headrick said. “We believe that the Book of Mormon is convincing evidence that God loves all of his children and inspires his prophets to guide his people.”

While some Muslims were open to learning more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Headrick said most of the people he taught were friends of church members or children of members.

Headrick said missionaries are always involved in service. He had the opportunity to work with other Mormon missionaries to bring relief supplies to the people in need when the volcano Mount Kelud erupted last year. The missionaries also swept streets in one city.

Headrick said he never really felt in danger in Indonesia except in traffic. “I rode a bike in almost every city I was in. I would be so close to cars weaving in and out. Trucks would go by just centimeters from us. No doubt God protected us.”

“Before I went to Indonesia I had never been outside the United States, so it was a big culture shock for me. The impact that the last two years has had on me is too tremendous to explain,” Headrick said. “I’ve learned many life lessons and seen many people grow and become successful because of their faith in Jesus Christ. I am eternally grateful for the blessings God has given me in my life.”

Sunday church services in Indonesia are just like at home, sacrament and Sunday school, Headrick said.

“The church is growing there. I saw many baptisms, probably more than 30 during the time I was there,” Headrick said.

The first Mormon congregation was established there in 1970; now there are more than 7,000 members, he said. The Book of Mormon has been available in the Indonesian language since 1977. The church regards the Book of Mormon as Scripture.

A 2013 graduate of Champion High School, Headrick will study at Brigham Young University-Idaho.