"God Be With You Till We Meet Again",
Elder Greenway and I are sitting in a Coffee Shop (because it has free Wi-Fi) in the Solo Airport. We just said good-bye to a loving group of 22 members who came to the airport to see us off. We checked our FIVE packed to the hilt pieces of luggage, paid our overweight penance on the suitcase that has our big antique gong in it, and scooted up the escalator to start on this letter. But the BIGGEST NEWS IS..
ASTER GOT HER MISSION CALL THIS MORNING AND IS GOING TO THE PHILIPPINES MANILA MISSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She will go to the MTC there to learn Tagalog (please forgive me Katie if that is spelled wrong)! She leaves in December. Her brother, Ezra, leaves in November, and her family Dad-Maryono , Mom-Ratmini, Aster, and Ezra are going to the Manila Temple in September to be sealed together as a family for eternity. It really doesn't get much better than that.
I must apologize for the delay of this letter. Our plane was called, and now I am sitting at a desk in Senopati, the mission home. We have just had dinner with Pres. & Sister Donald and it is now 9:30 p.m. Jakarta time. So I know this is very late in the a.m. getting to all of you.
I can't really tell you of all our endeavors this past week. It has been extremely busy... Two important tasks: On Monday morning I showered. Now that might not seem important to most of you. However, if you have ever served with me in a calling (Sis. Knarr, Sis. Kellis) you know that showers are dangerous places for me. Monday morning I felt very strongly that we should prepare the Jebres less-active list before we left Solo. So Elder text the Jebre Ward Clerk and he met us on Tuesday and printed a Ward roster that included families. Then Tuesday, while Elder Greenway was showing Bishop Suparno of the Benjasari Ward how to remove names from their Ward roster and send them through time and space to their proper places, Ratmini worked with me on the Jebres Ward Roster so I would know who was active and who wasn't. Oh Glory, what a mess... But we finally got it somewhat figured out, and then we went to our apartment and organized all these names by kampung(neighborhoods)which takes about 3-4 hours. Then Wednesday we typed it all up and today we presented it to Bishop Awik. Now you need to understand that no one has ever worked over these rosters. So as Bishop Suparno told me, "this is such a gift, Sister", they can actually have living breathing sheep to work with. Also today, Elder took Bishop Awik, his counselor, and the Stake Clerk, and showed them how to work the computer to manage all the results. Number 2 item that came from that Monday Shower was a final YSA/AP-YW Movie night just LAST NIGHT!!!!! We text the Stake President and asked if we could, he was thrilled and he text all the Bishops, and so we had about 60 youth and YSA's at the Kepatihan Building to watch "Tangled"! What a way to leave town!!!! We also had our final English class, went looking for lost sheep with the Elders and cleaned our apartment, did laundry and packed.
Which Brings Us To Today... We attended the Jebres/Banjasari Wards today. The Missionaries sang "Ye Elders of Israel/God Be With You Till We Meet Again". They had me play, and Elder sang and we were so grateful to be a part of that group. We were asked to say a few words in both meetings, but mostly we just watched and loved the members. There was a baptism today in Jebres, and last week Benjasari had two baptisms. So there is much to be grateful for, great appreciation for the fine Elders and Sisters who have been Called To Serve in the Indonesia Mission. we have talked much about our love for these people. We have told you that they are family to us, our Brothers and Sisters. So today, today there were many hugs, many tears, and many, many words of affection. When we arrived at the airport at 2:00 p.m., there was our English class, our Stake President and his family, Sister Ima and Brother Didit and their children (I teach them in Piano), and Brother Suparno, who has been the General Contractor for all of the water projects we attended to. We talked and talked, took pictures, then Elder and I sang to them in the waiting area of the airport, the song that began this letter. We sang in English and they listened, and then they joined in for, "till we meet, till we meet, till we meet at Jesus feet... And now here we are in Jakarta.
We would like to thank you, our loving, patient family and long suffering friends, for muddling through all of these letters and being so kind to send us notes or Skype from time to time. Your kindness and interest has meant to so much to us. Because this will be the end of the Greenway Mission Blog, Elder and I would like to share something very important, and I will start...
I would certainly want you all to know that I have no doubt that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. I know that there was a time that we all met and shouted for joy at the glorious plan proposed by the Savior, and sustained by all who knew it was the only way to return back to our Father in Heaven. I know we have other Brothers and Sisters that were there with us, that we knew, that we promised we would help to return, if we could. I know that we are led by an inspired Prophet, who has asked us all to be better missionaries, that has raised the bar, and lifted the burdens so that many more will have the opportunity to go forth and "thrust in the sickle". I have been blessed beyond my ability to express by this opportunity to serve. I will end this mission forever grateful to have been "Called to Serve".
We have just come to the conclusion of two years of service that, if anything, has proved to me that Heavenly Father's children - members of His church - are molded and shaped by the Gospel into a community of virtual brothers and sisters. We have lived, worked with, taught and been taught by, and loved and been loved by a people half way around the world from our home in Pennsylvania and learned that the Gospel of Jesus Christ creates a family. The Gospel creates a people so similar in faith and belief and testimony ... so similar, that we truly see and experience the family of God here on the earth. The message is so simple. The Savior, Jesus Christ, organized His church during his mortal sojourn on earth. As happened so many times, as documented in the Old and New Testament as well as the Book of Mormon, apostasy crept into the church leading to a loss of the simple but eternal truths of His plan of happiness and salvation. And again, as testified in the scriptures, He has, once and forever, brought those complete truths back to the earth. The fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His Plan of Happiness is available to all who are willing to humble themselves before the Lord and prayerfully consider the message carried by an army of unsophisticated young men and women and a few weathered old seniors. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. By following the recommendation of an ancient prophet (Moroni 10:4-5) the worth of this book can be had by all who sincerely seek to know.
"NOW BEHOLD, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men, therefore, oh ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve Him with all your heart, might, mind and strength ..."
We bear witness to all these things in the holy name of Jesus Christ,
Elder and Sister Greenway
No comments:
Post a Comment