Week 46

Selamat Siang Keluarga Kami mengasihih banyak dan Teman baik!!!!

WADU! Minggu ini lalu sibuk sekali!!!! (WOW! This past week very busy !!!!) But first I always need to tell you how wonderful it is to get your emails. Missionaries love mail, and we are no different. We especially love to see our grandchildren on Skype. WADU, WADU!!! This will be an important week for Jackson Greenway, Matt and Tanya's almost 4 year old son. He has already had a great birthday party with 31 in attendance!!!! So we are anxious to see him tomorrow on his big day. Jackson is well known in Solo, from his picture. They call him "rascal". Then the next day it is Emily's husband, Ty's birthday and he'll be 29 (that is a lie, but I'll never tell). He hasn't had his party, but I know he can't WAIT to have a big dose of F U N!! He is such a party animal. I hope Emily is realistic, and just plans a service project. They would both probably like to be with me on Aug. 1, which is our Districts Prep. Day, and the Missionaries have chosen to go to Merapi, the active volcano, and hike and go to the visitors center, etc. So since we are part of the District and transportation, we will be with them!

Tomorrow we will be taking Sisters Blake and Neis, and Elders Tessers and Go, and heading to Boyalali. We now have around 8 investigators in this beautiful little town. The surrounding country-side is where the current water project is finishing up. We have also just delivered 23 wheelchairs to those in need in Boyalali. This area is ripe and ready for the Gospel. We all can feel it. So each week we work a little harder to see it grow. We leave around 9:30 a.m. and get home around 4 p.m. We don't want to rush the missionaries, we want them to take their time and find the best of the best to teach. So far it has all been referral driven, but who knows??? Last Monday was great, first we dropped off the Elders downtown, then they dropped off Elder Greenway and I at the wheelchair distribution, then Bono drove the Sisters to Ampel and waited. Then we just reversed the process, except the Elders had taught a few lessons, and had taken an Angkota (tiny bus) out of town toward Solo about 5 kilometers. So we fetched them there and headed to Raja Chicken for lunch. Good day!

Tuesday was the craziest day! First there was Piano prep. (planning out all the piano lessons for each student...takes about 3 hrs.), then we baked a cake (see why later), then we headed to piano lessons. It was a slow day. I had a few that didn't show up, and the Sisters had come to help for an hour, so I was disappointed. Then about 4:30 p.m. WHAM! In a space of 10 minutes I had 6 new students walk in!!! All of the pianos were full, and I had to tell one mother and son to come back in about 15 minutes. Then I gave a crash course in beginning piano to the Sisters, and WALA! I now have 35 piano students, 22 on Tuesdays between 3 and 6:30 p.m. It was a mad house. Thank heavens I had come prepared for a few new students, and then made it stretch.

After piano we and the Knorpps headed to Solo Square for yummy frozen yogurt and birthday cake. It was Widap's birthday. We had all the Caturs; Bishop, Irma, Monique, Yvonne, Eden, Ayo, and Gramma. Also, Joko, Yua, Agus, Frisca, Yuli, Widaup and the Knorpps. Then Farida and Fransesca, Pres. Ipung and wife, Dewi came along. They were headed to a movie, but Elder Greenway insisted on buying them ice cream anyway. And for the grand finale, Ayo (about 3 yrs old) threw up pretty spectacularly!!!!! Tooooo much excitement.... (or maybe it was the cake?) Rather an exciting day, I'd say!

Wednesday, we celebrated Elder Greenway's and Elder Fisher's birthday (and Prep. day) by having all the missionaries in our district to our apt. for a movie and tacos. Last week that had been voted #1 on the Prep. day activities. So Elder Mokodompis got permission, and after much deliberation and voting, "Tangled" was voted in, and so while they watched the movie, Elder Greenway and I prepared the fixin's for tacos. Now you can't buy tortillas here (you can in Jakarta, but not Solo) so we made homemade. Yummy!!!!!! Each Elder or Sister had to roll out their own tortilla and then Elder Greenway was the flipper. We also had watermelon and punch. It was so fun to watch the Indonesian Elders watch that movie. Well, it is fun to watch anyone watch that movie! Soooo fun! Then everyone went off to work, including us. We set off to visit Bono's elderly mother. She fed us (we were so full of tacos) Martabak! You make an unsweetened crepe, then you chop green onion, and mix with beaten egg. You can add cooked chicken here, if you like. Then you lay out the crepe, put a spoonful of the onion/egg mixture and fold the crepe like an envelope and seal the last fold with egg. Then you drop it in hot oil and turn from time to time until golden and crispy. MMMmmmm. We were sad we had to leave, but we did have a quiet set of piano lessons, not at all like the day before.

On Elder Greenway's birthday, we took the Knorpps to open their bank accounts, a process in Indonesia that takes literally 3 hours. We were at BCA (bank) from 10 - 1 p.m. It was the same when Grovers took us the first time. Then we were off to A&W (yes that is right, A & W) for a hamburger, fries, and root beer floats. The Knorpps treated us for Elder Greenway's Birthday! That was soooooooo nice. The Knorpps needed to pick up a few more things after, so then we quickly headed home so that a group of young people could drop by and surprise Elder Greenway with a song and a present! I gave Elder Greenway a bucket. Now before you remind me that my father always gave my mother a new shovel for Mother's day, Elder Greenway had told me he wanted a bucket that could squeeze out the water from the mop. So on one of our journeys to Lotta Mart (a Cosco wanna be) I saw it and it was the last one. Sis. Knorpp was so nice to pretend to buy it for herself and keep it until the right moment. He was so overcome when he saw it, he took a picture of it.

Friday we attended DDM, always a wonderful way to start a Friday, and then we went to have keys to everything made for the Knorpps. Finally, after such a crazy, busy week.... we got to do what we love to do best. We went to introduce the Knorpps to Brother Mulyono, a wonderful old character from Solo 2. He was delightful as usual. However we found out he has not been to the temple. So we put him on our Home Teaching list, and will start seeing him every month. I told him if he would get himself prepared to go to the temple in Manilla, I would see what the Mission President would say about our going with him. (He laughed... but I was thinking serious thoughts). His wife went with all the Solo Pioneers, but he was not ready, and now she is gone. Elder Greenway invited him to church, and expressed how important he was to the Lord. So there you go! He needs to get to the temple.

Then we were off again to Raja Chicken, (they have the best Mie Ayam) and then GOSPEL ENGLISH. We have so much fun with that group of people. They are absolutely wonderful. Bishop Awik is such a character. He reminds me of Ty, sort of quiet, but there is a definite twinkle in his eye. We hope they all don't speak so well they decide to stop! We just wish everyone could see them at work. Sooooooooooooooo smart.!!!!!!

So, that was the week that was.... everything zooming by so quickly. The Knorpps are wonderful, and they are going to be so busy. They will be traveling a bunch, but it is great to have them around. They are grasping things quickly. Sara, did we tell you they were from Meridian, Idaho. We think we did. Anyway, time is flying! We feel there is tons to be done. We really want to make sure we do all the Lord sent us here to do. We have made dear friends. They hug us, they share their babies, they call me Gramma, they care for us, they share their lives, they look for us, they help us with our work, and they bring us GREAT joy.

Yesterday we made cookies with the Solo1 primary. We taught them all to say "Snickerdoodle". Then we sang primary songs. Sister Kellis, we did "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes", my way.... faster and faster, and then mute, with actions. OH! SO! FUN!!! We also did "Do As I'm Doing" turning in circles... what a sight! We think we are having entirely to much fun here. No one said a mission was this fun!!!!! I think the Lord wants us all to be happy. This is a happy people. We know the Lord loves them dearly. We pray you may all find joy in the Gospel, and happiness with those you love and serve. "Men are that they might have joy..."

Happily,
Elder dan Sister Greenway