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