Week 89

Welcome, welcome Sabbath Morning, Now we rest from every care....

 

I dunno, I just gave Ty permission to pull up my ailing Plum Tree.  I have babied it for about 5 years now, and I think it has finally succumbed to the dreaded Black Rot.  Oh well, maybe I'll bring home a mango tree!!! (Just kidding Ty!)  On a brighter note!!! Master Luke is celebrating his numero uno birthday this week!!!!  He is walking all over the place, and generally acting his age.  What a cutie!

 

This week the majority of the time has been spent attending a Senior Missionary Conference with it's related activities.  The conference started on Tuesday evening.  However, on Monday we received a call from the Knorpps.  Rudy, a young man from the Jebres Ward, had called them.  His nephew had been scalded with boiling water on Sunday evening, and he wasn't sure that the hospital was doing enough for him.  He wanted someone to come and check.  The Knorpps called us, which was the right thing.  Elder G. spent a professional lifetime taking care of all sorts of wounds, including many burns.  So, Monday afternoon the Knorpps and we went to see Ruben who is 6 years old.  The Indonesians bathe their children sometimes 3 times a day.  Sunday night Ruben's older sister (12) was in charge of his bath.  She boiled the water, (maybe .00005 per cent of the population here has hot water, most don't even have water plumbed into their homes), and then forgot to add the cold water. He was burned on his lower belly, and the inside of his legs.  Elder did some investigating and found that they were doing a pretty good job.  While he was doing that, I was going from bed to bed to shake hands with all the mothers who had sick children in the same room, about 8 beds.  They were mostly Muslim, are all friendly and love to shake hands and tell you why they are there.  One was a 5 month old baby that was very jaundiced.  I had Bono come and help me translate.  The family was from a village past Magalang, (2 hours away) and this was the third time the baby had been in the hospital.  I asked if the baby was yellow when he was born, and she said yes.  I asked if they had other hospital visits because he was yellow.  She said yes.  I asked if they had taken blood for tests, and she said yes.  I asked her if they had told her his liver was sick.  She said they told her they didn't know why he was sick. Now, I am no Dr. but I could tell his liver was sick.  After we knew that Ruben was okay, we went to visit Alma, and his (wife).  He is a less active we found working on the Solo 1 Ward roster.  She had been in the hospital for weeks trying to stop her baby from coming early.  When we got there they were just taking her for a sonogram to check the baby, only the nurse told me they were going to "terminate" the baby.  What she meant was if the baby was okay they were going to go ahead and get the baby to come.  I sort of panicked, except Alma was all smiles, so then I figured it out.  Later, I asked President Groberg about the jaundiced baby. (He is a pediatrician ) I asked if the treatment was expensive, and if the Drs. knew that the family could never afford the treatment, would they just say they didn't know what was wrong, and let the baby die knowing that the parents could have more children.  I had already had this conversation with Ron, and he and the President both agreed that was probably exactly what was happening.  

 

With everything that is going on in the U.S.A right now, and we get enough news to know that it has been a rough time for government vs. integrity, there is no other country in the world that can compare.  We are spoiled and blessed and have no idea how most the world lives.  While there is much to fix, there is also much to be grateful for, and many to thank for their good hearts.  Maybe someone should invent a "just good news" channel, so we can see how much good there is.  The majority of the people of Solo do not have indoor toilets, by that I mean that the toilet might be a half a block away, right next to the "clean" water pump.  We have been in countless homes that are one room, sometimes two, that keeps a family of 5 or 6.  Their government is a new democracy, and it is struggling.  In fact, today was "voting day", so many came with purple fingers to church.  Yet they are happy and loving and dear, and wonderful. We all need to smile more. We are so blessed!

 

After Monday, we spent a glorious week with the other Senior Couples.  We taught each other, and learned so much.  President and Sister Groberg also taught, and we were all a little sad because this was the last time most of us would see them here.  There last day as Mission President is June 30th. They have been tireless in their service.  While everyone was touring the Princes Palace on Wed., they were out working with the missionaries. Elder and I ran back to the hospital to check on Ruben again.  Rudy had called to say they were doing surgery. Elder knew better, but we checked anyway.  They were just putting him under while the Drs. did some debridement.  He was fine.  The jaundiced baby looked worse. I think maybe we will go check on Ruben tomorrow. 

 

Finally, on Friday, after taking 2 of the senior couples to a Batik Museum (others were at various other activities), Elder and I went to DDM.  We needed to see our "kids" (young missionaries assigned to Solo).  We love them so much, and then toward the end President and Sister Groberg came.  It would be the last time they saw many of these young Elders and Sisters.  It was pretty hard, and there were many teary eyes, including the Presidents.  But, the last memory as The Missionary "Mom" I will have of our tiny, petite, Sister Groberg will be of her hanging out of the back window of a moving car, from the waist up, taking pictures of the Elders and Sisters on their bikes riding out to do their work after DDM.  "...let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power, and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."  

 

With Gratitude,

 

Elder and Sister Greenway 

Week 89 Photos #1

I am going to have to send a couple letter this week because of all of the photos and their accumulated size.

 

First of all, here is the group all together.

Elder and Sister Knorpp (Meridian, Idaho)  They were the organizers for this conference.  Serving out of Solo.

President and Sister George Groberg (Idaho Falls, Idaho) Serving out of Jakarta.

 

Elder and Sister Anderson (Rexberg, Idaho).  Serving in Surabaya. 

 

Elder and Sister Barnard in their matching batik outfits!  (Tasmania, Australia) Serving in Jogja.

Elder and Sister Williams (California).  Serving in Malang.

 

Elder and Sister Lisk (Eugene, Oregon).  Serving in Jakarta.

 

Elder and Sister Rasband (Charleston, Utah)  Serving in Manado.

 

Elder and Sister Healy (Salt Lake City, Utah)  Serving out of Jakarta.

 

 Elder and Sister Weichers (Draper, Utah)  Serving out of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Public Affairs).

Week 89 Photos #2

Here we are, hard at work, being taught by each couple about what they are doing and suggestions for all of us to incorporate in our own areas.

 

 

We ever heard from the Presiden Pasak Surakarta President Budi Susanto who was accompanied by his wife Isti.

We needed to be hauled to several places over the three days of the conference.  Here are our drivers:  Sarbono (he drives for us), Sukiarto (who normally drives for the Barnards), and Purwono (who is the Knorpp's driver).

 

We did do some site-seeing.  This is the Prince's Palace here in Solo.  Overall I think it is better cared for than the King's Palace.  This is the Main ceremonial pavilion.

 

There was a "Traditional Dance" practice going on while we were there.  Here is the orchestra ....

 

and the dancers.

 

After visiting the palace, we walked across the street to a traditional antique pasar.

 

We also enjoyed a night out at a really nice restaurant arranged for by the Knorpps.

Week 88

Good Sunday to all our Family and Friends!

 

Tis a beautiful day in Indonesia!  We have been having some rain, which is a bit of a surprise because we thought the rainy season was over for 2013!  But today the sun is shining, the sky is cloudy, but blue, and paradise abounds.  This week Joel and Rebekah will celebrate their 4th anniversary, a celebration that blessedly includes vivacious Logan (2) and beautiful lady Jane Anne (7 months).  Happy Day!!!!

 

Our busy week began on Monday with the annual Mothers Day skyping adventure.  We love this day because we get to have the Elders and Sisters over to the apartment.  Elder James was first, so his companion of course came along.  While Elder James was visiting with his family, Elder Martoyo had some breakfast and then watched the D&C Instructional film about Joseph Smith.  WE ALWAYS ASK IF THEY ARE HUNGRY!  Elder Watson was scheduled second, and he was part of a triple whammy that week.  Elder Hernandez had been moved to the Jakarta area the week before.  So that left 3 Elders to do the work in the Kapatihan area for a little over a week. Elder Watson came with Elders Taulu, and Wijaya.  "Have you had breakfast?" we asked.  Big Smiles was the reply.  I pulled out some watermelon and pineapple for them, and apologized because I had NO RICE!!!  (How do you survive without rice in Indonesia?)  Elder Taulu told me he "was liking" bread more than rice, now.  So I dropped some bread in the toaster, and whipped up some peanut butter and honey.  I turned just as the toaster popped up, WHOA!!!!  Those two Elders jumped a foot!  They had never seen a toaster.  Boy were they all over that appliance!  They had to put their hand over it to feel the heat, and they LOOOOOVVVEEEDDD the product that it produced, but every time it popped, they jumped!  Elder Taulu has talked about it all week, "mmmmm toast and peanuts, Sister, mmmmm".  Peanut butter is about $5 for a small jar here, so most Indonesians have never eaten it.  By then it was Sister Hutcheson's turn at the computer, but she and Sister Manulang had eaten.  So she watched "17 Miracles" and we all just cried and cried.  By the time they were all gone, the apartment was infused with their spirit.  They make life grand.

 

Tuesday was piano, and Tuesday evening we taught English.  We handed out the English Books of Mormon and a marking pen to our class.  We had written in the front of each, and had them write their names.  Then we spent an hour with the "2000 Stripling Warriors".  We started in Alma 53 and we read about the oath and covenant of the people of Ammon, then we worked our way through parts of Alma 56, 57, and 58.  We had them underline important scriptures, we talked about the attributes of an honorable father, the humility of mothers who teach the gospel to their children, and the courage it takes to be a valiant youth.  What a wonderful scripture story!

 

Wednesday was piano, then we had a Scripture Chase in English!  They had never had a scripture chase.  We divided them into teams, and then off they went!!! It is soooooooooooo fun to watch them have so much fun.  They were screaming, and cheating, and laughing, and jumping up and down.  Crazy good fun.  Earlier in the day we had taken Elder James and Lee to the airport for a transfer.  They are both great missionaries and we were sad to see them go.  About 4 p.m., Elder left me in the capable hands of my piano students, and Sisters Hutcheson and Manulang (they help out at piano on Wednesdays because I have some new young students who do not speak English, and 2 come from a part member family they are working with).  Elder and Bono fetched Elders Johnson, Earls, and Norris from the airport.  Elder Johnson is from American Fork, Elder Earls is from California, and Elder Norris is from Melbourne, Australia.  Elders Johnson and Earls joined Elders Lopis and Martoyo, and Elder Norris joined Elders Taulu, Wijaya, and Watson.  So because they live in 2 different areas of Solo, he didn't get back to the church until the middle of English, and then he worked with Sister Frisca. He is trying his durndest to get her off on her mission to Australia, but the visa papers are taking forever!  She was suppose to leave in April, but the paperwork is incredible.  Anyway, he missed all the fun.  Poor, sweet Elder....

 

THURSDAY!!!  We had been invited to go to Monique Catur's high school to work with her English "Extra Curricular".  We think that means English Club.  Her high school is a "katolic" school. When she asked us, she said we had an hour, and she wanted us (by us I mean Elder and I, and Elders Martoyo and Johnson) to talk, play a game, AND TEACH THEM A WESTERN LINE DANCE!!!!!!  WILL THAT NEVER END!!!!  However, at the airport on Wednesday morning (Monique's family had followed along to say good-bye) she told us we had 2 hours!  So we went home and came up with a power-point presentation about the USA.  We wanted it to be fun, but informative.  When we got to the school Thursday afternoon there were about 21 students, some faculty, and they were really excited.  "Honored Guests" we were called.  They had a short program they had prepared, including a song by "Angela" who said she loved to sing because she had such a good voice.  We all just grinned.  Then it was our turn.   We talked to them about how closely our Church and their Church work together to help the people of the world.  Then we took them on our "tour" of the USA.  We visited Hollywood, Disneyland, the giant redwoods, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, a Texas cowboy, Mt. Rushmore, the Mississippi river, a southern plantation (where they were harvesting rice with huge machines!), New York City, Washington D.C., and finally Pennsylvania!  Elder had Googled Carlisle, and then our sub-division, then our house, then closer to our house, then a big brown eye! OOPS!!! tooooo close.  They loved it.  Then we had the Elders help them play Pictionary, with 2 teams that were cheering and laughing.  By then it was 3:45 and I thought... Oh darn, we don't have time to dance.  But Monique would have none of that, and so we taught a Western line dance!  We all left the school sweaty and happy!

 

Friday was a drive to Boyalali day, AND that evening we began teaching English again at the Kapatihan building.  We repeated our Power-point, and Pictionary activity.  They are both excellent ways to increase vocabulary, and practice asking questions.  So, all in all it was a zooming week full of good times with the people we love in Indonesia.  This week we will be busy with another Senior's Conference, but we are taking Monday and Tuesday to do some searching for less actives.  We are unhappy when our schedule gets so packed that we don't have time to go looking.  We feel the urgency to look for those lost sheep.  We hope you are happily serving in your vineyard.  We are so blessed to belong to Christ's Church, and to know our responsibilities and choices make a difference.  We are really blessed to have the power to serve in His name.  My goodness we are blessed!  Have a good busy week.  If we are to be weary, be weary in good works.

 

Thank goodness for the Sabbath Day,

 

Elder and Sister Greenway  

Week 88 Photos #1

On Thursday we were invited by Monique Jatmiko (Bishop Catur and Irma's daughter) to present as native speakers at her sekola SMA (High School).  Here is the teacher of the the ekstrakolikular English class.  You can also see Shala (long hair) a friend of Monique, and Elder Martoyo (Bono's nephew).

As part of the introduction, Angel presented a musical number.  "I love to sing because I have such a nice voice."

She had live accompaniment!

Elder Johnson and Elder Martoyo played English Word Pictionary with the students.  Can you guess the word he's drawing?

We ended with teaching a simplified country line dance which they then did to, "Mountain Music," by Alabama.  They really loved it.

Followed by the requisite group picture ... followed by a myriad of individual hand phone shots!

Week 88 Photos #2

On Friday, before we headed for English class at Kepatihan, Bono recommended a Javanese Restaurant for a late lunch.  This is the Rasa Mirasa Restaurant.  This design is very common - very Javanese architecture.

This is the large dining area in the front.

Some people prefer the Javanese style of eating while seated on the floor with a low table.  We sat at a staddard table with chairs.

The view from our table.

We had Cap Cay (Chop Chie) (stir-fry vegetables) with nasi putih (steamed white rice) ...

and Nasi Goreng (fried rice) and Ikan Gorame Bakar (Gorame fish grilled) ...

the Gorame was fresh !!!!

Then it was off to English at Kepatihan with Bila, Ezra, Ricko, Corri, and Yuli.

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Week 87

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to some of the most wonderful MOTHERS on the planet!!!!!

 

I got to thinking, today, (I know, I know, your happy I finally got to thinking!) that the list of Mothers that get this letter is a pretty remarkable list!  I am so grateful for your example and friendship and love.  The force for good that comes from all of you fills so many lives.  Isn't it awesome to be a mom!?!  I know I am so thankful for my incredible little Mom, whose stature was mighty in a little teeny body.

 

We have had so much goodness in our lives this week.  It has just been a "feel good" week.  Nothing remarkable... just goodness.  We took Monday and did a bunch of preparation work, then turned around and did almost everything different than normal.  Tuesday we picked up Luki, Lala, and Kiki for piano. They had forgotten, but they hurried and came with us anyway.  I worked them hard this week.  Luki always does this throw his arms and head back frustration thing when the music looks hard. He use to refuse to play, but then one day it was him or me, so he doesn't do that any more. But I always know when he thinks the music looks toooooooooooo hard.  Lala just does this little squeak thing, but Luki demonstrates.  Regardless, I had both write in some names of notes, and work on the beginning of the piece.  Next week we'll tidy it up.  Kiki(who the Bishop wants to take over the piano for Sacrament meetings come August, when the current pianist goes on a mission), plays and works hard until I stop to listen to her, then she won't play.  "Kiki!", I said, "people will for sure hear you play come August, so let's get use to it."  Her English is so-so, SO I have to explain it all in a Indoenglish sort of language.  Now she has an opening, sacrament, and closing song chosen to play for me in 2 weeks.... or whenever I can get her to do it.  Veve also comes on Tuesday, along with Willie and Dinda.  My Tuesdays have really diminished, (we are down to the truly serious).  But my Wednesdays have increased!. 

 

Tuesday evening Untea and Harman were married.  Untea (ooontaya) is a widow, and Harman is a non-member.  Untea wanted Harman to join the Church before they were married.  The Elders have been working with him for about 3 weeks, however.... Harman has a smoking problem.  He has been coming to church with Untea, (Elder and I have been visiting Untea since we came here), but Untea has not been reliable in that respect, so we were glad to see her being a good example.  Well, Elder Watson happen to get to an appointment at Untea's a little early last week, (with his companion right behind), and saw Harman, with a cigarette, run into the house.  When they all greeted each other soon after, the cigarette was gone, so Elder Watson asked how long it had been since Harman had a cigarette.  Harman told him about a week....  So Elder Watson asked me on Sunday what he should do.  I told him that he needed to discuss it with the Bishop, since he would be performing the marriage scheduled for May 23.  So he did, and the Bishop pulled Untea and Harman aside and told them that he thought they shouldn't wait for Harman to quit smoking, and join the Church(since it didn't sound as though he was too sincere), and so they were married Tuesday night.  There families were there, and a number of members, including the missionaries.  They asked if I would play piano, and the whole "shootin' match" was over in about 25 minutes.  We'll see if Harman is serious about the Church....

 

Wednesday after piano lessons, (I now have 5 new Wednesday students), we had our only Seminary English class of the week.  Tuesday was the wedding, and Thursday was "Ascension"(as in Christ's) Day in this Muslim country of Indonesia, and is a National holiday. So there was no English class 

on Thursday. On Wednesday we took the hymn "The Spirit of God", printed it off in English, and went through it line by line, word by word, so that they could understand what it was saying.  You would find it very interesting the words they know, and the words they don't know.  On the don't know list: ire, chariot, descends, inherit, glories, burst, veil (in Muslim Indonesia), expanding, shout!, etc.  It was a great discussion, with them reading each line, and taking in the joyful words of this hymn.  Then, before we had the closing prayer, we had them stand and sing all 4 verses, with Yos conducting and me playing.  WOW & WADU!!!!!  You would have been amazed at the volume in that classroom.  We were all tingling after, and just stood there a moment to soak it all in.

 

Thursday was a wash because the Wards had all gone off on buses to far away places, however... we decided to break tradition and go swimming in the middle of the day, with the sun and everything.  Elder had decided to do some "laying out" to soak up the sun, and I was still doing some laps, when a young couple got into the pool.  Turns out they were from Texas, and were in Indonesia with the Peace Corp!  They had been in eastern Java, and would be finished in June and were trying to decided whether to stay and work (as in a profession), or to go back to Texas.  They really wanted to stay, and were looking for a job in Solo.  We talked and talked for a long, long time.  We talked a lot about the Church, (they are "Christian" was all they told us), about the members and general population  here in Solo.  We are going to try to help them get a job working for a company from the U.S. that is owned by some members there, and run by a member here.  Anyway... we were glad for the swim and the opportunity to get to know this great young couple.

 

Friday we found 3 "lost sheep" who definitely want to stay lost.  One has been lost since the 1980s.....  We try to explain the whole "write the letter" business, but they mostly just smile and nod and say, "yea, yea".  So I talked to the Bishop today about having them write a letter for removal, and he smiled and nodded and said "yea, yea".  Hmmmph...  I think I'll send them to the great lost list in the sky (or at least in cyber space).  Also on Friday, we spent about 15 minutes in DDM with Elder Taulu (taowlu) trying to get the 4 "Slamet Widodo's" (weedohdoh) and the 1 just "Widodo" straight, from the Banjasari Ward.  I had given him a copy of my less active list and asked him to do some searching for me. Now, we each had a Slamet Widodo that was dead on the list, it just wasn't the SAME Slamet Widodo.  Some mistakes are not so bad, but to mistakenly "kill" someone off is a bit nerve-wracking.   The addresses here are so weird, and we had the dead guy at two different addresses.  I think we FINALLY got it straight, but it did sound a little like "whose on first" for a while there, and all the Elders got involved when we were trying to decide who to "kill".  I will go over it with the Bishop before I bump the guy off.

 

Finally, there is a young man, Agus Haryono, who is nineteen and has cerebral palsy in the Solo 2nd ward.  He has the tortured body of a 10 year old, but his mind is alert and friendly.  Elder has been trying to get him his own "made just for him" wheelchair for a while.  Today we found out that the process has begun!!!  He has been slouched in a regular chair that is difficult to maneuver, but now he will have a slightly reclined custom chair that can get around in uneven Indonesia.  Yay, Elder!!!  Also, today we found out that we WILL be teaching a Seminary English class at the Kapatihan building each Friday at 6.  That means that we now teach English on Tues., Wed., Thurs., at the Supomo building and Friday nights at Kapatihan.  We have been writing lesson plans, so we can just go back and refer to the plans, and we can share between the two buildings. I do want to confess that we do nothing about irregular verbs, or past perfect tense, etc.  I don't think I even care about irregular verbs, or past perfect tense.  However we have some great fun with vocabulary, and we DO do some technical stuff like..... nouns, and verbs, and adjectives, and adverbs.  (Matthew and Adam are right now rolling their eyes, and sighing)....  Oh well, maybe Heavenly Father will send a new couple who were English majors to take our place!  Until then... we will just have fun and soak up the love!

 

Lovingly (adverb) fun! (noun or verb depending on what's goin' on.)

Master Elder and Madame Sister 

 

Week 86

"Though April showers... may come your way (shoobedoo, shoobedoo) They bring the flowers.... that bloom in Maaaayyyy!"

My sweet alto mother would sing that song every April and May.  I actually have her Women's 3 Part Harmony music from way back in the 1950's.  She sang with a Ladies Chorus in Nephi, Utah and had a collection of very old music.  I've used "When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob Bobbin' Along" with the Activity Day Girls in our Ward.  Music crosses generations so easily!  Which reminds me of our Stake Choir Party held last night to celebrate a very successful Stake Choir performance.  But before I get to that, I must say, HAPPY, HAPPY, BIRTHDAY TO OUR SON (Sara's hubby) KYLE ON THE 10TH OF MAY!!! May you enjoy your ice cream in a VERRRRRRRRYYY BIG BOWL!!!!!!

Last night we held the Choir Party.  We had 30 of the 60 or so singers in attendance.  The 10 Elders and Sisters were not in attendance, having much more important things to do, so that means about 20 did not attend.  Transportation is always a problem, and also work, etc.; so, we actually were pleased with the 30 that came.  They ate 17 pizzas!!!!!! of the 20 we ordered, and watched "How to Train Your Dragon" with Bahasa Indonesian subtitles.  They cheered and laughed and worried when it looked like Hiccup "bit the dust".  In other words, THEY LOVED IT!  As usual, we enjoyed just being with them.  We are all so comfortable together.  They call me Gramma.  They love to laugh at Elder's antics (he's such a tease).  Last night, about a third of the way through the movie, Yos came to the back where I was watching over the Pizza table.  I was sitting there so I could open a new box when one of the boxes of the three flavors would get low.  He just came back, moved a chair by mine, and sat down and watched the rest of the movie.  Sweet Yos!  Then Thomas, a 13 year old from the Banjasari Ward, came in at the beginning and shook our hands, then he went to the back of the crowd and came in again and shook our hands, then repeated it again until we all laughed.  Many are more like grandchildren than far off youth.  On the way home, I was telling Elder about Yos coming to sit by me, and I thought again that I will not be here to see him leave on his mission, or get married, and I get so sad.  I do wish I could split in two.

Now, I do want you to know that we did reward the valiant Elders and Sisters for also participating in the Choir.  They all came to our apartment on Monday (their Prep day) so we could thank them for their singing.  The reality is that the Choir would just fall apart without them.  They are mature, and willing to sing, have singing ability (all missionaries sing!) and are dependable.  We began their "party" with a lesson.  We took the quote (with a bit of a change) "Where Ere Thou Art, Act Well Thy Part" and talked about their part.  "Where ere thou art"... where ever the Lord would have you serve... "Act well".... choose to be your best..."Thy Part".... what is there part?  We talked about how "their part" would change many times during their lives.  What ever their part is now, it will be different in a couple of years, and different 10 years from then, etc. etc. etc.  We told them that our part as Grandparents was so different now than was our part as parents of teenagers 10 - 15 years ago.  They will have just one chance to "act well their part" as young full time missionaries.  Then we asked them a hard question, "What gets in the way of their doing their best as missionaries?"  They were hesitant to answer, so I told them about how the heat sometimes tempts me to want to stay inside and hide.  Then they did open up a bit.  They talked about how "disappointment" was a bitter pill to swallow.  Canceled appointments, investigators that don't progress, people who don't keep their commitments, add up to create the feeling of "why try". Another subject was zero baptisms.  Elder and I talked about the old Harrisburg Mission being the lowest baptizing mission in the eastern U.S.  Who would think that getting called to Harrisburg PA. could be so hard?  But it was, and still is.  Then we discussed some of the ways they can do better to "act well" their part.  These are terrific, hardworking, dedicated missionaries.  We were blessed to have them in our home.  Then (with permission) they watched the same movie as the youth and ate about 5 tons of Taco Soup with Corn Chip(Knorpps found Corn Chips that are actually pretty good!), and Sister Knorpp made some yummy Apple Crisp.  It was a great day. 

We didn't just party this week, although it does sound that way, we still did piano, English, and we FOUND A LOST SOUL THAT IS WILLING TO HAVE THE SISTERS COME AND VISIT!!!!!!!!!  We are so excited.  We are like the young Elders.  We are so tired of writing on the Ward Less Active Roster, "moved, married, Muslim".  We had two names that lived near the Banjasari Bishop.  So we went to talk to his wife, Ida (Eedah).  She told us that one name belonged to a dead person, BUT the other name was a woman that she knew and had VISITED MONTHLY for years!  The lady happened to be visiting next door to the Bishop's home, so we were introduce to her and her 8 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER!!!!!  This lost Sister had been taught the Gospel when she was only eleven , while her neighbors were being taught,sometime in the 1980's.  She had never been really very active.  So we asked if we could send the Sister Missionaries to see her.  We will see where this goes, but we were just so thrilled to find a real breathing human being!  The "lost" lists get very long here.  We are searching carefully, with the help of the young Elders and Sisters, to find a few sheep that the Lord has prepared.

Finally, Luki was confirmed today, and Uskup (Bishop) Awik wisely asked Elder Watson (just before the meeting began) to confirm Luki.  Elder Watson (from Spanish Fork) was soooooooooooo excited.  He went over the ordinance with Elder just to make sure he had it correctly in mind.  He was perfect, and gave Luki a sweet blessing which we appreciated.  The Bishop also asked the Ward Mission Leader to Confirm another child the Sisters had prepared for baptism.  What a wise, and wonderful young Bishop.  Each companionship of Elders is assigned to one ward, but the Sisters work in each of the Solo Wards.  They attend all the council meetings and have told us that Uskup Awik uses his Council Meetings to find and rescue the less active.  So far this year that Ward has had 5 convert baptisms, many the husbands or wives of former less active ward members.  

It is wonderful to belong to a Church who has a Prophet and Apostles to lead and guide us.  This Rescue Program came from the Lord through these Leaders to help us find our important "lost sheep".  Home and Visiting teaching is a huge part of this program.  We have an even greater testimony of Home and Visiting now, because it hardly functions here.  We can see what happens when members like Ida does her Visiting Teaching year after year, even when it seems that it does little good.  Perhaps now is the time, and Ida has planted all the good seeds of conversion.  Just imagine if everyone did their Visiting teaching as faithfully as Ida?!?  Just imagine... 

Take care of each other, love your families, serve faithfully,

Elder Dad and Sister Mom. 

Week 86 Photos

We mentioned the opportunity I had to again perform a baptism.  This time it was for Luki Listyanto, who is Lala's brother.  If you remember, I was able to baptize Lala about a year ago.  Another youngster, Devi, from a less active family that the Sisters have been working with was also baptized.  Today in Fast and Testimony meeting, they were both confirmed!

Here are Sister Hutcheson, Devi, Elder Lee, and Elder Watson.

 

Here I am with Luki.

We also had a lesson with the elders and sisters of Surakarta.  Here Sister Greenway is teaching; she's out of site on the right of the picture.

As you can see, Taco Soup was offered with Nacho Chips that the Knorpps discovered.  They consumed every drop.  It was great!!!  

From left to right: Elder Wijaya, Elder Taulu, Elder James, Elder Martoyo, and Elder Lee.

They also got to enjoy "How to Train Your Dragon."  It was in English with English subtitles to help the native missionaries with their English.

Elder Hernandez, Elder Taulu, Sister Hutcheson, Sister Manullang, and Elder Watson.