Week 29: More and more and even more experiences in Indonesia!!!!

Living in Indonesia and listening to the sounds and tones of bahasa Indonesian and attempting to speak the language every day is a challenge.  Especially a language that is not latin based.  Our minds search for a root word but we can’t find one ha ha.   Because Robert doesn’t hear perfectly we are actually developing relationships at the hospital.  We found a routine that has helped Robert hear better. 

Robert has wax build up in his ears which contributes to difficulty hearing until his ear canals are cleaned.  We have a great relationship with a new Dr. here and we go over to the hospital and the Dr. vacuums out the wax from his ears. The Dr. smiles, jokes. and speaks to us in English and loves to clean the American missionary’s ears! The amazing thing is the cost of the Dr visit with the Ear, Nose and Throat specialist was $6.07  with a very short wait! We pay 22 cents to park at the hospital and 14 cents at the hearing aid store.

We then went to more friends we have gotten to know at the Starkey hearing aid office and the audiologist tested his hearing which is stable, there was no cost because he had already paid for the hearing aids in America. Great service and low low health costs.

We walk down some amazing narrow little streets to visit wonderful families like the beautiful family photo that we are including

This week we visited a Catholic Charities School.  Robert and I met the manager of the school foundation in a restaurant and he asked if we would come to his school. We visited this week and he asked if we and some of the young missionaries can mentor and evaluate the school work  the students work required to be written in English once a week.  We will begin this next Friday for one hour a week.  We will do this project for the weeks that we are available.  The teachers were thrilled to have “native” English speakers available for a few minutes as possible.

We visited an orthopedic hospital with a young man who had not been seen since he was a toddler.  He received an evaluation and physical therapy from a charitable fund to teach him how to massage his muscles and improve his walking and posture.  It was such a great experience to attend with him.

Sewing began on the newborn infant hats service project from the Relief Society to the Hermina hospital.  Wow it was so much fun and the  women know how to laugh and make service and ministering joyous!  There was such great laughter and fun as the sewing and cutting filled the evening hours until the sunset in the home of a woman from the ward.

We  attended a “Keroncong” free music concert in the outdoor stage of a local bookstore.  It was presented by Americans from a University in Richmond Virginia.  It was a terrific musical evening as we attended with 5 friends from the local wards who wanted us to share in this musical and cultural experience.  There was also a  traditional Wayang shadow puppet show. One was an American version shadow puppet story of “Jack and the Bean Stalk” and the second was a traditional Javanese story.

Kerongcong concert from America University of Richmond Virginia

We spent many hours helping correct family history data entries to a “standardized format” and another day assisted an elderly man scan many of his photos and important documents he has collected for years.  We took our scanner to his home and it was a great time sharing with his memories and uploading to “Family Search" and “Memories”. He is in the group that we are traveling with to Manilla in September to the LDS temple.  We continue to teach lessons to many in our group.

July 22, 2018  Banjasari Lingkungang Surakarta Indonesia Stake

Today, Sunday July 22,  we attended a baptism of a Young Man into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He will be confirmed Sunday July 29th.   We have been helping the missionaries teach him and learn about the restoration.  He accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It was a great day.  Enjoy the photos!

We are  anxiously hoping that Bruce our oldest grandson can complete the documentation for an expedited Passport and travel to see us departing August 4 and arriving August 6 …..and returning home on the 14th.  This was a last minute opportunity! We will share some amazing experiences with him!  He will travel  right along with us doing our missionary ministering and share some cultural experiences also! Hooray! 

Love, Elder and Sister Miller

Week 28: Family History & Javanese Dress Design

We continue to spend a great deal of time helping families organize their records and memories of their ancestors.

We are a team of missionaries serving in Indonesia!!!   xoxoxox

Accepting the Gospel of Jesus Christ transforms peoples lives and it is an amazing process to witness and share with the happiness of others! We love this young man!!

Elder Miller and I will celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary next month.  Elder Miller surprised me and took me to a prestigious Javanese dress designer for a new dress!  I am very excited.  We also spent a few minutes with him trying on Javanese traditional mens clothes.  My dress is being sewn right now so I  look forward to another fitting this week and then  seeing the results!! Yikes the numbers were pretty straight and round!! HaHa

Elder Miller had some fun too!!

Javanese culture is so beautiful.  This is called a “keris”! 

Week 27 Picture Update

July 1, 2018

Recently it was July 1, Canada Day, and the day in my hometown of Raymond, Alberta that generations of born and raised “Raymondites” come home for a few days of barbeques, parades, rodeos, old friends and families.  It is a time when kids get new blue jeans and cowboy hats.  This will be the first year in many that Margo and I will not be home to enjoy the festivities with our family.  I am happy that my Brother and many of his children went to see my father and my brother, the #3 son Kevin, still living at home under my Dad’s (97) daily care.  My two wonderful sisters are also ministering angels.

Since so much has occurred since last writing, I will try to catch you up mostly via pictures, with an occasional comment.

This is the young lady that had to be taught to not be afraid of water before she could be baptized.  Such a special family.  The missionary on the left finished his two years and went home this week

This is a birthday party for two members of one of the Solo congregations.  They love each other so much and are so supportive of each other.

The very close family of the young man with the “Marilyn Monroe” T-shirt.  He is a Javanese artist that was appointed to be head of his family by his grandfather just before he died.  The young man the the right of Margo and below will be baptized on July 22.

Sister Miller and I supported the young and very capable leaders at a youth conference for about 75 teen-agers as a resort in the mountains. (Two children of the leaders after watching an American movie. :)

I received the first shipment of my book submitted to publisher just before leaving for Indonesia.  We met two different owners of factories and on our day off we visited them, I presented a copy of the book and we built friendships. I loved it!

Cleaning and lubricating the “miracle” sewing machine and meeting with hospital administrators so show them the little hats (250) the women will make for newborn babies.

We have a new mission president from Seattle that arrived last week.  The young missionaries will love him as do Sister Miller and I already do.  He came to a zone conference to meet the missionaries and participated in a ward party the young missionaries organized for members and the people they are teaching.  He was a missionary here when he was 19 so the language is coming back quickly.

The Elders have been teaching this Sister for some time but the husband was hesitant to join the conversation so Sister Miller and I went with them and because we have grey hair and are older than them, he came right out and spent the entire evening with us.  It helps to be a “senior” and support the young missionaries.

We love these young men and women.  Without doubt their willing service with complete devotion to the Lord for two years of their young lives is a miracle.  While the church works very hard to take care of the missionaries, one of our newest arrivals had his new watch and wallet chewed up by rats in their apartment shortly after his arrival.  The missionaries are great…they laugh about it, put a notch in their belts and just go to work. We took the large missionary below to the hospital because he had a terrible rash on his face and arm.  We thought he had shingles but fortunately the Doctor said it was “only” caused by the water we all have to bathe in.