Russell and Eileen's Church Missions: October 2012

Sunday, October 28, 2012

OBEDIENCE AND SACRIFICE

On Wednesday this past week we had the wonderful opportunity of having a Zone Conference with the other missionaries in West Java area. This area encompasses over 1/3 of the missionaries in Indonesia, most from metropolitan Jakarta but also including those from Bandung and Medan (Sumatra). It was the spiritual highlight of our mission. In addition to President Groberg leading the conference, Elder and Sister Watson traveled from Hong Kong to speak to us. Elder Watson is a Seventy (General Authority) for our church and presides over the Asia area. This means he has ecclesiastical authority over 25 countries in the Asia Area from China on the east to Afghanistan on the west. This area encompasses 1/2 of the world's population. In addition to being a deeply spiritual and dedicated man, he also has a delightful sense of humor. In the conference we were brought together to be taught, spiritually uplifted, and to grow united as a group. The themes of the conference were being obedient and using the Book of Mormon to teach of Christ.

Early in the conference, President Watson called upon a young missionary who he knew spoke very little English. He asked the young man if he knew any English. After having the question translated, the young man said no. He looked very nervous. President Watson explained that we were going to learn how the Holy Spirit can confirm to others that which we say. President Watson asked the young man to say two sentences in English about his mother. The young man named Daniel, started talking. In extremely slow vocabulary he said these three sentences. "I love my mother. My mother is amazing. My mother taught me about Jesus." Then he was invited to sit down. President Watson had not looked my (Eileen) way at all that I could tell. But after Daniel sat down he said these words, "I took a risk and it paid off. I wanted someone in here to feel the Spirit and I know that Sister Healy did because I can see her crying." I was startled because I had not seen him look towards me, but he was right. I was very touched by the words of a young man that could say such kind words about his mother. A lesson was taught. Words don't need to be articulate or even in one's own language for someone else to feel through the Holy Spirit the truth of the message.

Each of us had been asked to prepare a two minute talk about a previously assigned Book of Mormon character. A light was put on the podium that would flash red at the 1 minute 50 second mark. The purpose was to teach us that talks can be prepared in a concise manner and still be spiritually uplifting. Daniel (the young man mentioned previously) was asked to speak on the "armies of Helaman." This is a story of two thousand young men led by their leader Helaman who fought in defence of their country and freedom. This is what was said about them. "Now they never had fought yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. And they rehearsed unto Moroni the word of their mothers saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it." Daniel was, as those young men in the Book of Mormon, following the teachings of his mother.

On Friday, the holiday Idul Adha was celebrated. This holiday commemorates Abraham's sacrifice. According to the Koran it was Ishmael, not Issac who Abraham took to the mount that day. We spent an hour and went to a nearby mosque to witness the sacrificing of goats and cattle. Other than the use of the meat as a gift to others (usually the poor) rather than being burnt on an alter, the process follows that noted in the Old Testament. We have omitted the pictures showing the actual sacrifice in an effort to maintain our "PG rating," but Eileen was close enough that she got blood splattered on her skirt.

MISSIONARIES OF JAKARTA ZONE CONFERENCE WITH ELDER AND SISTER WATSON (L-MIDDLE) AND PRESIDENT AND SISTER GROBERG (R-MIDDLE)

GOAT FARMER READY TO SELL GOATS

COW HOPING HE WON'T BE SOLD

THIS FAMILY BOUGHT A GOAT TO BE SACRIFICED

NOT ENOUGH ROOM TO TAKE IT HOME ON THEIR MOTORCYCLE SO A YOUNG MAN LED THE GOAT HOME FOR THEM. IT WOULD BE PART OF THE SACRIFICES THE NEXT DAY.

MOSQUE WITH APARTMENTS IN BACKGROUND
SACRIFICES TOOK PLACE ON THE PREMISES

CHILDREN OBSERVING SACRIFICES

COW TIED FOR SACRIFICING

GOATS BEING SKINNED AND CUT UP

NOTE NEWS REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHER IN BACKGROUND

MEAT BEING PREPARED FOR THE POOR

IMAM EXPLAINING PROCESS TO EILEEN

ISLAMIC STUDENTS FROM GERMANY AND INDIA EXPLAINING BELIEFS TO SENIOR MISSIONARIES

Sunday, October 21, 2012

HYGIENE KITS, BEING PREPARED

In August and September we were quite involved with victims of neighborhood fires. In those instances we found our efforts to react quickly to help meet their needs frustrated by the time required to gather the appropriate materials. While it would be impossible to predict what will be most needed in each case, there are a few basic items that always seem to be in demand.

The Boy Scouts have a motto, “Be prepared.” Yesterday we had an activity that we hope will allow us to be better prepared to respond more quickly to the needs of future disaster victims. With the help of members from the Jakarta South and Tangerang wards we assembled over 2,000 hygiene kits. The kits included: blanket, towel, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste.

It was both interesting and heartwarming to watch the volunteers work together to assemble the kits. While I am sure that the kits will go for a good cause I also believe there is benefit for those who give service. Not only did the members get to enjoy associating one with another, they also had an opportunity to serve others.

SUPPLIES FOR HYGIENE KITS

MEMBERS OF JAKARTA SOUTH WARDS

MEMBERS OF TANGERANG WARDS

PRESIDENT DJAROT WITH COMPLETED KITS

BAG FOR HYGIENE KIT

Sunday, October 14, 2012

AMOS 3:7

There are two experiences I (Russell) would like to share with you from our activities of the last week. Neither involve travel or humanitarian efforts, rather they have to do with more spiritual matters. While this may be different from most of our earlier entries it should not be unexpected given we are missionaries.

For the last few weeks Eileen has been suffering with a toothache. She has been reluctant to go in and have it taken care of. Between being in a foreign country and her great love of her childhood dentist (not!)…. I believe she was hoping that it might just go away. By a week ago Friday she was hurting bad enough it was affecting her ability to work or even concentrate. Finally she gave in and made a dentist appointment for last Monday. Saturday was difficult day for her, she was miserable. The next day was Fast Sunday and we were fasting that an inactive member might have the desire to attend church that day. Individually, I also asked in my prayers that accompanied my fast that Eileen be comforted until she could see the dentist on Monday. Well, our inactive member did not come to church but Eileen was without pain for all of Sunday and Monday prior to her dentist appointment. God does answer prayers. Eileen was also very grateful to be led to a good dentist where she received excellent care.

Our church had its semi-annual worldwide conference on October 6^th and 7^th. Here in Indonesia the members see recordings of those meetings, translated into the local language, the next weekend. We were able to watch all five sessions over the internet in English during the week and then today I went and watched the Sunday morning session in Indonesian with the local members. It was inspiring to hear those we consider as God’s mouthpieces here on earth tell to us what God would have us know and do. The following are just a few of the highlights (from my point of view).

Shane Bowen spoke of the heartache that accompanied the loss of his infant son some years ago and of how the atonement of Jesus Christ helped comfort him and provide salvation for his child. Russell Nelson talked of life’s many perplexing questions and where we can turn to find the answers to them. Dallin Oaks spoke of our roles and duties as parents, saying that which may not be popular in today’s culture but are true nonetheless.

Probably the most meaningful to me were the words of our church’s leader, President Monson. He talked of God’s love for each of us, that He is very aware of the trials that each of us are going through. He spoke of God’s desire for us to approach Him in prayer and share with Him our hopes and fears. President Monson reminded us that God wants to comfort us and give us instruction on how to deal with life’s challenges. He also reminded us that our omniscient Father-in-Heaven always answers prayers but on his wise schedule, not our finite ones.

While President Monson was relating a couple of stories to illustrate his point, my mind was drawn to a time 26 years ago. We had just moved our family to Princeton, New Jersey while I was working in New York City. There we found the pace of life, cost of living and distance from family support overwhelming. After six months, both Eileen and I were in agreement that something needed to change before something broke. I started looking at other job opportunities. One in particular looked very promising. It was located in Denver, close to where Eileen grew up. The type of work was particularly appealing to me, both from a professional and lifestyle perspective. After flying to Denver and interviewing, I was even more enthused and best of all they wanted me. It appeared like a match made in heaven. As with all major decisions in our life together, Eileen and I decided to pray about it. I was still in Denver and she in Princeton. Almost immediately we both got the same answer – no! To this day I have no idea why the opportunity was not right for us. I also have no idea where that “road not taken” would have led us, how it would have affected our children or left Eileen and I once we retired. Would we be on a mission now? What I do know for certain is what the answer from God was. It was both prompt and clear.

I am grateful for my knowledge that God lives and that we can approach Him in prayer to both gain comfort and learn answers to life’s challenges. May we all follow President Monson’s admonition to approach our Father-in-Heaven in prayer.

PRESIDENT THOMAS S. MONSON
If you would like to read or listen to any of the talks from conference please go to the following link:

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2012/10?lang=eng

Monday, October 8, 2012

THEIR BURDENS WERE MADE LIGHTER

On September 24^th, we had the privilege of attending a wheelchair and walker distribution ceremony in Temanggung, Central Java. The clients had already been premeasured and fitted by our NGO partner UCP. It was a day of mixed feelings. It was sad to see mothers, fathers, husbands, and sons carry their loved ones into the room, knowing that many had been waiting a long time for their loved one to receive their longed for wheelchair. Others were brought by ambulance and delivered by a stretcher. One elderly man was lifted by four men off of the stretcher and moved to a wheelchair. How long had he been home bound I wondered? Had he ever left his home during that time? Would this wheelchair give him freedom to be outdoors more?

A man in his mid 50’s lovingly carried his wife in and sat with her on his lap. When the wheelchair that was custom fit for her was brought over to them he gently placed her in it. A physical therapist adjusted it to her needs. I talked with the couple though an interpreter. She said five years ago she woke up paralyzed from the waist down. She has visited many doctors but received no answers for her condition. If she has wanted to go anywhere she has needed to have her husband carry her. They were both delighted that she would finally have a wheelchair to get her around. At last the day had arrived.

Several mothers carried children on their backs. I have posted pictures of these children so that you can see their challenges. For many the burdens they carry have not been light. Hopefully with a wheelchair or walker the caretaker’s logistical burdens have become lighter.

One fun individual to watch was a 25 year old young man with some severe spinal deformities. He was given a roughrider wheelchair. These are wheelchairs that are made to travel just about anywhere. He was taught by one of the company’s marketing specialist that traveled here from San Francisco. They had races up and down the hills, over the sidewalks and he was even taught how to do wheelies in his wheelchair. By the end of an hour, they were both sweating up a storm. This young man was the one I saw pay $1.50 for his wheelchair. He proudly pulled the money out of his pocket to pay. He had no family members with him that I could see.

Each family signs a contract and is responsible for paying a certain amount based on their income. The desire is for each individual to bear some of the cost so it is not pure charity. We have found through experience that people who pay something for what they get appreciate it much more than when they get it for free. We have seen amounts paid ranging from 15 cents-$15.00 for a very nice custom-made wheelchair. Each wheelchair is fitted by a physical therapist especially for that individual. The wheelchair can be brought back for repairs or if a child needs a larger one as he/she grows.

While in Temanggung we visited a brother who is a member of our church. Temanggung is a long way away from where we have any other members of the church. Brother Hendro is 79 years old and has 7 children, the youngest of which is currently serving a mission for our church in Bandung, Indonesia. Brother Hendro was gracious (and spry). It was wonderful to visit with him and to be welcomed into his home.

This past week we went out with the young missionaries for the first time to an appointment. It was nice in both cases to do more of what normal missionaries do. We enjoyed spreaded our love of our beliefs with others.