Week 46: Thanksgiving In Indonesia

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch and invited the 6 missionaries in Solo to share with us.  We had a delicious dinner.  We ate in our apartment.   We do not have an oven in our kitchen and the chief at a major mall grocery store offered to bake 4 chickens for us. The chief actually used the morning of his day off to pick the appropriate herbs and ingredients and to bake the chickens for us because he wanted them “perfect” for our Thanksgiving dinner. We had all the trimmings. We can’t even begin to express our gratitude to so many strangers and friends we meet every day that make our life here in Indonesia so wonderful and fulfilling.     

Check out the expression on the Indonesian Elder.  When he tasted the spices in the no bake pumpkin desert his dislike and expression was “classic” the taste of spices to him was awful ha ha.  We told him we completely understood because that is exactly my expression when I taste some of the different tastes here in Indonesia, the syrups, chicken heads, feet and guppies ha ha!! 

Elder Miller and I are so thankful for the privilege of serving a mission in Indonesia.  We are so thankful for good food, a beautiful place to live, and each other.  We are so thankful for our children, grandchildren, acquaintances and each of You,  our dearest friends.  We feel so blessed! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Week 45: A Glimpse of a Different Culture and The Divine Worth of All Souls

A large percentage of the people we meet are very poor by American or global standards.  The consistently hot days and hot nights allow people to live almost outside.  A home does not really need to protect a person from the elements except rain and it is just part of life and the water quickly disappears in the many drains, ditches, and open sewers.  There is no need to buy much more than the shirt or dress on your “back” because winter, fall, or spring clothes are not needed. The climate is always hot and dry or hot and rainy. The hot weather every single afternoon promotes many middle aged people to sleep to avoid the heat and not have energy to do much.  The younger under 30 are working and the elderly are raising the grandchildren.   Many people do not have material things or conveniences but just enough to sustain their basic needs for existence.  Many work for just enough money to eat and have a simple place to sleep.  The basic food of rice that sustains many leads to diabetes, strokes, and a short life span.  

In comparison to this simplistic life I am describing, Robert and I are reminded about how we grew up, the homes in which we raised our children, the consistent pay checks from continuous professional employment, our many conveniences, beautiful cars,  furniture, houses, lands, flocks and herds.  We have been blessed to be self reliant.  We were able to receive a great education and have worked in the work place of our choice.  An individual's hard work here in Indonesia does not always bring self reliance, or bring to pass the “good life” we are all accustomed to in America.  

With great humility I share three photos of the sweetest 40 year old woman’s home who is a widow. Her husband passed away one year ago.  She has two children being raised by Muslim elderly grandparents in another location.  This is an example of many homes that we visit.  Her home she shares with another woman who works opposite 12 hour shifts 5-6 days each week.  We waited in the hallway before we entered as we sat and shared a wonderful message together.  

We are so thankful for everything we have. As a missionary we comfort the poor and the needy. We teach self reliance.  We minister to bring happiness to everyone and help all to receive all the joy Heavenly Father has to offer.  Many do find great  peace within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The gift of salvation is for everyone.   We know that Heavenly Father recognizes that every soul of every culture rich or poor is of divine worth.

Week 44: Strengthening our Heart Muscle

The challenge as a missionary is strengthening our heart muscle…. because are hearts are enlarged one day or breaking from emotions the next because of the reality of poverty and how very little food, or items many people have in so many of the visits we make and the people we pass each day on the streets. Wonderful people that have basically a place to sleep. For most there is a mattress or mat on the floor.  When we arrive in a home, quickly one or more of  the family will leave for a few minutes to hurry to a neighbor or a little warong street food cart very close to their homes to gather makanan for us.  They sit quietly and watch us eat, never eating themselves. Everyone is generous and happy to have us in their home. We actually visited a member this week who lives in a tiny room adjacent to a fire station and they cook food for the firemen and other neighbors. Many people make their living by selling food.

We are always offered food when we meet with families. 

Perfect posture is demonstrated  as we watch beautiful women walk and carry their food they have prepared to sell each day to carts on the streets.

This week there was a huge gathering in the city and a 36 hour performance of the “Wayang” shadow puppet show to celebrate “World Wayang Day”. We stopped to watch for a few minutes. Robert and I while raising our children had them enrolled in musical instrument lessons, story time at the library, scouts, singing, sports, dancing, juggling, olympics of the mind, religious instruction, student government, orchestra, choir, language learning etc and it is the same in Indonesia. In Indonesia, just like America, parents with the means available are giving their children different experiences, these young boys are being instructed beginning at an early age in music and Javanese puppetry.

We have decided to “join ‘um” and eat lots of chilis! In this photo you can see these tiny bountiful red and green chilis and just imagine a big number chopped up by Robert and added to our vegetables for Sunday dinner. Something has happened to our taste buds and we are enjoying the peppers so much we have begun adding them to our own cooked food! We wonder if food will seem very bland when we come home. But the hot taste is not the same as the Mexican taste we remember from home. This week it was very interesting when we taught the English lesson about “things we like” to our police students, we brought some medium salsa we purchased at a grocery store in town that carries a few American commodities. We added some tortilla “like" Indonesian snacks and took the chips and salsa for our students to taste. Our friends did not like the “hot” salsa. In fact, they would barely taste a tiny bit because it was so hot! They decided the hot taste was different and too long lasting!! Indonesian hot food is not the same as Mexican hot food in America.

Remember from the “Wizard of Oz” the singing and dancing to follow the” yellow brick road” ? well today we include the picture that we will always remember from serving in Solo the “yellow brick” hand painted house. Isn’t it wonderful? This 80 year old man is our great friend! He actually found pictures of his wife this week and was so thrilled to share them to be added to his Family Search Memories. Elder Miller will include this photo of his home because it tells so much about his personality! He told us this week he used much of his money painting his house.

 

We did lots of driving this week. Another great zone conference in Semarang on Wednesday. Many young missionaries traveled by train or airplane. Here is a photo as we began to gather and the elders did a great job in a quartet.

The young man in the middle is a Doctor who just returned from volunteering at humanitarian clinics in Lombok after the earthquakes. He ministered for almost a month. He is the Uskup or Bishop in Yogyakarta. We drove to Yogyakarta for our Sunday meetings.

Week 43: STRENGTH IN NUMBERS….”Sister there are so many members!”

An Indonesian Bishop’s wife leaned over and whispered to me last week as we were sitting next to each other in a chapel one evening watching a video about “For the Strength of Youth” activities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints filmed around the world, “Sister, there are so many members!”   We were watching video clips of youth from every country you could imagine, gathered for one week to strengthen testimonies of Jesus Christ, create friendship, and learn and develop skills and attributes as a new generation of church leadership.  In June 2019 there will be this week long program for all the youth of Indonesia to participate in.

Last week, a group of leaders responsible for the global youth programs from ages 12-18 visited our stake from Salt Lake City. Attending with the visitors from SLC was a senior missionary couple from Utah assigned in Hong Kong responsible for organizing all the details for the strength of youth activity to be held in Indonesia.   It is exciting to look forward to this wonderful week of activities this summer for the young men and women of Indonesia.

Activities and new buildings are all additional evidence of the growth of membership and the importance of all God’s children throughout the world.  As a result of the large numbers and growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is construction of a new stake center and addition on the church property here in Surakarta.  We attended the ground breaking in January of 2018.  Elder Miller spends a few minutes whenever we are at this location in observing and is amazed at the strenuous physical labor involved with the construction of this building.   Welding and grinding, mixing cement lack modern conveniences.  Bamboo poles are used instead of 2x4’s…work done by hand where in the United States there are machines, mixers, fancy tools that lighten the work…..the hand tools used and elbow grease are tearful to observe the workers sweating in the high temperature day after day!!  Yet, a young workforce and friendly smiles are evidence that they are engaged in good work. I am including a photo of the progress in the construction of the new stake center.

This weekend we attended Stake Conference at the Novotel Hotel in Solo. We listened to wonderful motivational talks, heard spiritual thoughts from the Bible and Book of Mormon, testimonies of new converts and a newly wed who traveled to the temple in Manila to be married, uplifting remarks from the Stake President and listened to the most beautiful music performed by the choir.  The music really inspired me and the choir director led a beautiful ‘arrangement” and or ”variation” of  “ dite de Caccini (1545-16-18) which included a type of singing of notes and a fabulous piano accompaniment. It was so inspirational!!   My faith is strengthened to gather and feel the love of the numbers of our family,  friends, members, and those investigating and learning about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with the missionaries in Indonesia.  “Called to Serve…onward ever onward…” We carry on!!

Week 42: People, Places and the Impact of Difficult Circumstances Living in Indonesia

It is easy to appreciate that we find ourselves so fortunate to live in a nice apartment here in Solo and we have the means to travel and experience the luxury of fine food, quality hotel rooms, and easy transportation to meet new friends.  We took a recent trip to the city of Jakarta and when Robert found out that there was a 4 star hotel called “The Margo Hotel” in Depok a suburb of Jakarta, he was absolutely determined that we would stay overnight there before we flew home. We feel so fortunate to have the means to journey through life with and make happen the things that we want.   It turned out that it was absolutely a beautiful hotel and I was quite happy with my name sake hotel!!  The Elders met us there in the morning for a quick beautiful buffet breakfast and then we set out to meet the parents of a young man that recently was baptized. 

We left our luxury hotel to enter the real life of real people in real places in a country so different than America.  It was important to our friend in Solo  that we meet his family.  The father is retired from a Jakarta city police career as a Commander dealing with corruption.  They were very nice people and welcomed us to their home.  Notice their traditional marriage photo in the background on the wall.  This is an example of a Javanese traditional marriage portrait in traditional clothing that we see in many homes.

Another contact with friends this week was with the sister of one of our missionaries.  She works at a local gas station. Her job is 7 days a week with 3 days off each month.  Long hours and low wages.  Without an education there is little hope for making much more than the equivalent of $ 170.00  U.S. pay monthly. 

We also captured the photos of a local example of distribution of goods by motorcycle.  Can you believe what is done on a motorcycle???!!!! Every-time Robert sees this kind of example,  he looks at me and says ,” Don’t even think about me selling my truck at home and using the yellow “bumble bee” scooter from our house in St George.” Ha Ha 

A funeral was held this week of a 53 year old man from our church congregation who passed away.  Funerals are held within 24 hours of death.  The body is prepared for burial by friends and neighbors.  A devastated and shocked wife was difficult to console.  It is hard to describe the impact of the hard living conditions, low wages, poor quality of food, and stress of difficult circumstances amongst so many people here and it truly affects the longevity of life. Our personal age and the exceptional quality of our health and bodily strength we exhibit when compared with others our same age here is shockingly different.  The quality of life here takes a toll on so many people. They look and act far older than their age.  We in America are very fortunate to eat high quality food, drink clean water, live in communities with adequate sewage and sanitary systems,  organized and systematic ways of collection and disposal of garbage, have good health care available and good higher education is accessible.  We are so thankful for our blessings.

 

Week 41: Experiences Supporting the Elderly

Some of the tender moments of our ministering in the Jakarta Indonesia Mission is with the Elderly.  The sweet Sister in the photo lives in a Kos which is a tiny sleeping room with a community bath room and area for cooking.  This is a newer room that she has moved to.  She was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the 11 August of 1979.  She was born 1 September 1937.  Every Sunday she comes to church for 40 years.  Her smile is ever lasting when you meet her.  She has very little to offer a guest to eat and offers everything she has when we visit. 

 In April 2019 she will travel with our Church group to the Manila Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple.  She has waited and dreamed about this experience.  Elder Miller and I will visit and teach her and share with her in preparation for this travel and will accompany the group to the temple.  When we visit the Kos and talk in the area outside her sleeping room, it is new tile floor and she rolls out a very special straw mat for us to sit on and visit.  A very gracious hostess to her visitors.  She often walks over an hour to church. She is very energetic and has a beautiful dispostion.   She will look us in the eyes and talks so happily and speaks with a speed of  a hundred miles an hour in Bahasa Indonesia and Javanese!  We understand her words of happiness without understanding her language but we feel her message and spirit as she speaks. What a joy.

The elderly brother in the photo has another gigantic smile and the same desire to travel with us in April after waiting for many many years for this opportunity. When we met first with him in his home,  he lives in the same home that he was born in.  He is over 80 years old.  The home has been re-built a few times.  Just entering into his home told us many stories about his life.  The walls were painted and defined in simple  but lively colors and specific lines and separations; one yellow, one blue, one pink and in my opinion it is an artistic statement with a hand paint brush.  Most of the paint is not of high quality that cover the walls.   We felt happy the moment we stepped in the door with two young Elders.  Every brick shape on the exterior of the home was individually hand painted yellow. 

 He showed us the beginnings of his written recording of his family history.  He has the names of his parents and his children accurately recorded. . He doesn’t know the names of his grandparents, where they were born, or where they died but everything he knows he has recorded in the most beautiful neatly done handwriting I have ever seen. His printing was like the beautiful walls in his home.  His wife died many years ago and he does not have a photograph of her.  We talked about that disappointment and we suggested before we meet again he write in words a description of his wife’s physical appearance and about her personality for his memories in “Family Search”.  He was thrilled with this challenge. 

As we look around we see creative things that bring happiness in the lives of those we meet. Our lives are changed by the pure experiences we have meeting some of the wonderful elderly people in Indonesia.

Week 40: TRAVELING TO SEMARANG and an EXAMPLE OF THE SISTER MISSIONARY COMPANIONSHIP

There are so many different places that we visit.  Semarang is a city located on the north Coast of the Java Sea.   Semarang is the capital and largest city of Central Java and province in Indonesia.  During the church meeting the theft siren kept going off on the Van and after having to disconnecting the siren ultimately the car would not start.  We had so many wonderful men trying to help us resolve the issue.  Elder Miller was trying really hard to read the owners manual in Indonesian which was not going well ha ha.  Then he tried to google how to reset the anti theft engine mobilization system.  Finally we were able to get a Toyota mobile service help and they gave us a battery jump and off we went back to Solo.  There is actually a toll way between Semarang and Solo and it it the only drive so far that we have experienced that has a similar feel to roads in the United States.

These two Indonesia Missionary Sisters in Semarang are examples of an amazing companionship of self confident, courageous self-less women.  They have innate GPS systems in their minds. Riding bikes in dresses they can find any address because they know how the Indonesian streets and villages are organized. They are fearless in the traffic with motorcycles swerving all around them.    They bike in the hot weather and the rain and you see them soaked from either the rains or sweat from the  high heat.  They understand the culture and traditions.  They help to teach all the American and other missionaries not native to Indonesia about their people. They can cook the most amazing tasty dinners from absolutely slim ingredients because they have learned how to make the best out of what they have!!  Everyone adores their smiles and these two Sisters are filled with the desire to share the message of the restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with those that choose to listen.  They serve others.  They comfort the sick.  They mourn with those that mourn..  The Sister on the left was baptized for exactly  one year the month that she entered her assignment to serve as a full time missionary in the Jakarta Indonesia mission.  As they  both serve they are instructed with the admonition to study daily and learn the English language which will help lift them personally into the school and work environment when they return to their homes when their service is finished.  Missionary service is an incredible priviledge and we watch the development of important character attributes every day!