Awesome August

 

August was awesome!  We had the opportunity to get to know more missionaries, more members, more about the beauty of Indonesia and more about the importance of family history work in Indonesia.  It seems like the members of the church  here are being called upon by their ancestors to bring the fullness of the gospel to them.  We continue to hear of dreams that people have about their ancestors being happy their names have been taken to the temple or sad because they have not.  Bro. Timin said his grandmother came to him and said she could read about it but could not see it or do it.  That's how it came across in translation to us.  You can imagine that she was talking about learning the gospel but not being able to see the ordinances being done. 

Billy talked to a member of the stake presidency, Budi Utomo, about an experience that his mother had.  She and her husband are Muslim.  Several years ago President Budi got information from his mother about her family so he could complete family history records and do the temple work for them.  He got information back to his great grandparents.  He submitted the names and went to the temple to do the temple work for them.  While he was at the temple, his mother had a dream/vision in which the deceased ancestors whose names she had given to President Budi came to her all dressed in white clothing.  She knew them by name.  They thanked her for giving their names to President Budi.  He says that she had not been able to sleep that night and that she was half asleep when they visited her.  When President Budi returned from the temple, she told him about her dream.  She was frightened because there is a superstitious belief in Indonesia that if your dead ancestor visits you in a dream, you will die soon.  He reassured her why they had come to visit her, why they were happy and that she was not going to die soon.

President Budi’s father is a devout Muslim.  He has even been to Mecca and performed Islamic rituals there.  His mother says that she cannot be baptized in the Church while he lives, but that as soon as he dies, she will be baptized. There's a great example of how family history can bless both the living and the dead.  We feel honored to be a part of this important work.

We have been helping consultants work with the families that are going to the temple in September.  All have family names to take with them.  Counting children there will be 20 people, including us flying to Manila, Philippines on September 10th.  This is Sister Dewi with her Family Ordinance Request, who will be attending with her husband, Untung, and children.  Ari Wayhu is the consultant who has worked with her.

 

We spoke in the Banjarsari ward this month.  After the meeting the Elder's Quorum President, Widodo, said he wanted to be the first in his quorum to do his family history.  His wife, Sri, did the computer work with the help of Consultant Yuli.

This is a young Iranian refuge we met.  He escaped Iran and came to Indonesia to join the church.  He had an uncle in Canada who was a member.  He wanted to do his family history but was fearful to publish his family names on the website because already his family back in Iran has been persecuted because he joined the church.

Last month I posted a picture of Piaga learning about family history.  He has since been baptized by Elder Johnson.

August is the month of Idul Fitri, the Muslim holiday that rivals Christmas.  I loved this Muslim style ginger bread house in our hotel lobby.  This mosque was made of frosting and cookies.

 On the eve of Idul Fitri there were small torch parades passing through the streets.

Now that the Greenways have gone home, the support for the young missionaries has been given to us.  Billy has picked up most of it.  Which included helping get the Elders moved into a different house that required some shopping.  Trust the Elders to have some fun with that.

Elder Wood catching a ride on the new chairs with Franky and Elder Kester pushing. 

In Semarang we also had to buy new bicycles for the Elders.  Trying to get the best possible deal for the money, Billy tried to do some dickering with the salesman.  Tricky when you don't speak Indonesian very well!

 This is Elder Dalilis and Elder Wijaya with their new bike.

McDonalds for everyone after the shopping trip.

Elder Suwarsid, Norris, Wijaya, Dalilis and our driver, Franky.

The Greenways left their stovetop oven to us so my missionary support is cookies once a week at the District Meeting. 

The best part is no matter how bad my treats turn out, they still love them!

We occasionally take to the streets for our early morning exercise.  These views seem so contrasting but they are all right here in our neck of the woods.

 Bamboo scaffolding at a building site.

 Neighborhood bathroom.  This is the only one like this we've seen.

Solo, a city of contrasts. 

We had another funeral in one of the Solo wards.

Brother Hadi of the Jebres Ward passed away on August 14.  We attended the funeral in his home which was a small LDS service of songs and talks with about 12 church leaders, members and family standing around the casket as the neighbors waited outside on chairs.  The table the casket sat on stood in small bowls of water to discourage the ever present ants.  The smell of moth balls and flowers filled the air to cover the smell of death.  After the church service, the neighborhood leaders spoke outside to a large gathering of family, friends and neighbors.  Bro. Hadi was revered by all who spoke of him. His son, Sukro, came to the family history room the next week so they would have his name ready for his father's ordinances in 1 year.  They also gave us some family names to take to the temple.  These are good people who live close to the spirit and honor their Javanese traditions.  We are always honored to attend such events.

We traveled to Jakarta this month where we conducted a consultant workshop and two youth activities.  We were surprised to have the Bishops and the Stake President attend the consultant workshop!  We quickly adjusted our plans to provide some training for them.  Communication is a constant issue for us!  We are never quite sure what people will expect of us until the event actually begins.  Our motto has become, be prepared the best you can and then go with the flow.

 We had fun with the youth in Tangerang.  They love the technology side of family history.

The Lord loves and trusts youth to do family history.  They have been prepared for this work!