MIRACLE IN JAKARTA

We haven't posted the last two weeks because I (Eileen) have been quite sick with a respiratory infection.  Despite self medicating with a z-pack I am just barely starting to feel human again.  I am grateful that it is the first real respiratory illness I have had since being here for a year.  I have missed my exercise routine, going to the pasar and interacting with others.  I have tried to stay inside to avoid spreading illness to others.  Yesterday it was great to be back to church.

The rainy season has subsided and now we are into the hot and dry season in Jakarta.  Walking outside into 93 degree temperature after being inside our air conditioned apartment for a couple of weeks was a big surprise!

  Two weeks ago we saw the Seiters and Keplers return home after serving 18 months as senior missionaries in the Surabaya area.  They have gone on several projects with us in the Surabaya area. They also created a unique project of their own with the missionaries and members where they served. Once a week they went to the Surabaya zoo and painted, cleaned up,  and created an environment which would be much more appealing for visitors to visit the zoo.  We appreciate them for the strengths they brought to the mission field and their fun, happy, personalities.  There was never a dull moment with the Seiters and Keplers.

Last evening we were invited to go to the Lisks for dinner.  The Lisks are the office couple in Jakarta. They arrived in the latter part of January.  At about 4p.m. I received a call from Sister Lisk asking me if she could use my oven to cook dinner. She calmly said her oven blew up.  Russell and I raced down to the Lisk's apartment.  We arrived to find dust on the floor outside in the hallway. At first we thought it was ash.  Sister Lisk was pale with singed hair and eyebrows and some slight burns on her arms and face. She started pointing to her crispy hair and telling me how disappointed she was as she had just gotten a nice haircut the day before.  I immediately laid her down and elevated her feet.  I thought even if she was talking coherently surely this must have put her into a little bit of shock!  She explained how she had turned on the oven and reached down to light the oven when it exploded.  We have gas appliances here in Indonesia and the gas must have built up in the oven.  Elder Lisk was in the other room and said he heard what sounded like a bomb go off.  He thought it was outside their apartment.  The force of the explosion caused the metal latch to break off their door. The door to their laundry was also jammed shut and the impact of the explosion had blown the dust from their refrigerator out into the hallway.

We were so grateful that the Lisks were protected from any harm.  Russell knows of someone from his prior employer that actually died in an accident exactly like this one.  What turned out to be a small inconvenience for the evening could have been a deadly disaster.  We expressed our gratitude unitedly in a prayer thanking Heavenly Father for Sister Lisk's protection.

Later that evening we had a very nice dinner and discussion with a young man named Johann. He will be baptised as a  member of our church next Sunday after our Easter church services.  We are grateful to our Heavenly Father for the miracle of a beautiful, safe Sabbath day.

ELDER AND SISTER HEALY, LISK, KEPLER, SEITER AND PRESIDENT AND SISTER GROBERG

ELDER AND SISTER LISK, GRATEFUL FOR VERY LITTLE HARM DONE

MAINTENANCE MAN TRYING TO GET THEIR LAUNDRY DOOR OPEN (IT WAS JAMMED SHUT WITH THE FORCE OF THE EXPLOSION)

JOANN, ELDER DELILIS, ELDER NGGIKU, RUSSELL AND I

EXPLOSION BROKE  HANDLE OFF OF LOCK

AND THE BLIND WILL SEE

On Saturday we had the experience of going to Rumah Sakit Puri Husada near Jogjakarta where the medical residents and Dr. Suhardjo of Gadjah Mada University operated on 40 people that otherwise would not be able to obtain cataract surgery.  When we arrived there was a large crowd of older people patiently waiting in seats under a tarp.  It reminded me (Eileen) of my days with Operation Smile.  We were invited to sit on the stand and visited with Dr. Subroto, the director of the hospital, and many of the local staff.  While we were waiting for the ceremony to begin, the medical staff were putting drops in the eyes of some of the patients. They invited me to look at the patients eyes. The patients willingly complied.  I was surprised at how young some of the patients were. There were patients in their 40’s, many in their 50’s all the way up to patients in their 80’s.  Most had cataracts severe enough that I could see their cataracts from across the room. I was told that all were farmers and would not be able to afford surgery on their own.

 Our church has supplied some instruments for the doctors to use in surgery and there were three other companies that were sponsoring the costs of the surgery that day.  We had a ceremonial program with the sponsors, the doctors and the patients.  Russell was asked to speak and did an excellent job considering he didn’t have much notice. He described how he had received cataract surgery before we left on our mission at the age of 55 and what a blessing it was to receive his sight back.  Many of the patients that were there for surgery were blind.  It will truly be wonderful for them, not only because they will receive their sight, but many of them will be able to return to earning income for their families again.  At the end of the program one of the sponsors sang.  Although we didn’t know who he was, we were informed that he is a famous pop star in Indonesia named Piyu. http://youtu.be/vXVX4g_cpkg

I was able to observe several cataract surgeries. I was impressed with the sterility and care that Dr. Suhardjo used as he supervised the residents.  It was amazing to me to see the surgery being performed and how quickly a life could be changed.  Each surgery lasted about 30 minutes. The patient was awake during the surgery, but lay totally still. The patient received numbing drops  in their eyes prior to surgery.  Each patient will be checked 1-2 days postop to make sure everything is going well and then return to their homes.  Many of them will have their other eye operated on later in the year if they have cataracts in both eyes.   I left feeling so grateful for eyesight, access to good medical care, and the opportunity to partner with such a great group as the doctors at Gadja Mata.   Each doctor was giving of their time and expertise without pay to help the poor of Indonesia regain their sight.

PATIENTS WAITING FOR SURGERY-TAPE MARKS WHICH EYE IS GOING TO BE OPERATED ON

RUSSELL SPEAKING AT CEREMONY-DR. SUBROTO DIRECTOR OF HOSPITAL LOOKING ON

CATARACT IN 51 YEAR OLD

SCTV FILMED EVENT

RUSSELL EXPLAINING TO PATIENT ABOUT HIS OWN SURGERY

SURGICALLY REMOVING CATARACT.  MONITOR SIMILAR TO THIS DONATED BY OUR CHURCH
STILL WAITING FOR ALL PARTS TO ARRIVE

 SINGER PIYU ON RIGHT

ALL FINISHED, YELLOW SHIRTS PROVIDED BY SCTV STATION SPONSOR

USING MICROSCOPE WE DONATED

THREE OPERATIONS GOING AT ONE TIME

EILEEN IN OR

GLASSES FOR CHILDREN

I (Eileen) really enjoyed the last two weeks of my mission. Perhaps it is because the projects involved children and hospitals, both of which I have spent the last 35 years working with. Last week we went to several hospitals looking at neonatal care. This week we went to vision screening for children and also were involved with cataract operations.  I have made the vision projects two different blog postings because they are lengthy.

Our humanitarian efforts with our church has partnered with a group of doctors from Gadjah Mada University in Jogjakarta.  The director of the group is Professor  Dr. Suhardjo.  We have two projects going with them. First,  our church has donated equipment so that they can operate on patients doing cataract and other types of eye surgery. In return the doctors have provided clinics wherein they have free cataract operations for the poor.  We have also sponsored some of their doctors to come to the United States for training at the Moran Eye Institute and to the University in Iowa.  After they get trained, the training then gets passed on to the many medical residents below them, which improves the eye care here in Indonesia.  Second, the doctors provide free eye screenings for poor school children and then our church pays for eyeglasses.


Last Friday we attended on of the eyeglass screenings. Of  2,419 children in this location near Jogja, 294 were referred by their teachers as potentially needing glasses.  Past experience tells us that between 60%-75% of those screened will need glasses.  During the time we were there, one 11 year old had already been found to have glaucoma.  It was impressive to see how organized the group was.  There were 5 ophthalmology residents, Dr. Suhardjo (the ophthalmology attending) and a number of medical students all eager to help.  While the students were waiting, Eileen taught the students some songs in English.  The children were a little shy at first, but one of the medical students named Hanna helped me get the students enthusiastic about participating.  It was fun working with the children. It was also great knowing that the children would be getting the help they needed with their vision.  Normally the glasses would cost $10-$15, but because we are buying in bulk the glasses only cost $5-$6.  The children will all come back in a week to receive their glasses.  What a difference a the gift of vision will make to children that have not been able to see.

Some pictures taken by Waris, medical student.

OPTHAMALOGY RESIDENT DOING EXAM

EILEEN AND SISTER BARNARD WITH SCHOOLCHILDREN

EXAMINATION TOOLS

STUDENT GETTING WRITTEN PRESCRIPTION

MEDICAL RESIDENTS PROVIDING EYE EXAMS

HAVING FUN

WAITING FOR EXAMS

DR. SUHARDJO VISITING WITH EILEEN

STUDENTS EXAMINED ENMASSE

LUNCH BREAK

MED STUDENTS USING TONOMETER  PROVIDED BY OUR CHURCH

DR EDDIE DOING EXAM

EILEEN SHOWING STUDENTS THEIR PICTURES

TEACHING HOKEY POKEY WITH HANNAH AND SISTER BARNARD

PASSING ON

Last Sunday two members of the church here in Jakarta passed away.  Piet Tandiman was 90 years old and Joachim Ladjar was 64.  Both men were pioneers of the church in Indonesia, leaving children and grandchildren who are active members of the church.

Brother Tandiman’s granddaughter Vanessa was with us on Sunday when she got the call from her father telling of his passing.  Since Friday we had been in Bandung with Perinasia and Dr. Visick from Logan, Utah.  We have been planning a project to educate medical personnel on Neonatal Resuscitation.  Vanessa was translating for Dr. Visick.  Even though Vanessa knew of her grandfathers passing before we attended church that morning, she did not tell us of his passing until after a critical meeting that had been scheduled for that afternoon.  Not until after the meeting had concluded did she pull Eileen aside and tell her.  Although we left quickly thereafter it was late that evening before Vanessa could be reunited with her family.

Vanessa’s older sister, Bianca helped teach Eileen bahasa Indonesia in Provo prior to our embarking on our mission here.  Both daughters are wonderful young women, a tribute to their parents and grandfather.  If you would like to know more about the life of Piet Tandiman please see *[From Chad Emmetts facebook page).         

We first met the Ladjar family about 20 years ago when they came to attend the temple in Utah.  We had the privilege of having Brother and Sister Ladjar and their three children stay with us for a few days.  We have fond memories of taking them to a ski resort to see snow for their first time and to Provo to see another temple.  While in Provo, Eileen took them to her mother’s house and introduced them to  Janice Kapp Perry whom they had previously heard about  here in Indonesia.  Eileen bought them a copy of each of her CD’s and they were as happy as could be.

I (Russell) attended Brother Ladjar’s funeral and burial on Monday.  There were quite a few members from the stake in attendance.  Jemmy Mongan conducted the services and Bishop Mak spoke along with others.  Often here, the burial occurs within 24 hours of one’s passing.  It does not leave a lot of time for grieving and adjustment for those left behind.  As I noticed that many locals were taking pictures at the graveside, I took a few, which you can find, attached below.

It is at moments like this, when we are reminded of our mortality, that I am particularly grateful for the atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus the Christ.  Through his sacrifice each of us will be resurrected, and each of us will have the opportunity to repent from our sins and become worthy to return to our Father-in-Heaven after our life is over.

         *In memory of Brother Piet Tandiman, a wonderful man with a great  posterity. This is an excerpt from my forth-coming book about the history of the)  LDS Church in Indonesia:

.To help in all of the legalities of gaining recognition for the Church and more permanent immigration status for the elders, Elder Willard sought the services of an attorney.  He knew no attorneys and so he looked up attorneys in the phone book and randomly selected a law firm.  At that firm, the first attorney they met with could not speak English and so Willard and Storer were referred to an associate—Piet Tandiman. Tandiman was a native of Manado who studied law in the Netherlands and then taught law at Hassanuddin University in Ujungpandang (Makassar) from 1951-1969. In 1969 the Tandiman family moved to Jakarta where he began working as a notary in a law firm. During the introductory visit with the two missionaries, Tandiman noticed Willard blow away a mosquito on his arm.  Tandiman was impressed that Willard did not kill the mosquito and thought to himself: "this must be a good man".  (as a result Tandiman is now nicer to mosquitoes—he also feeds ants, fish and sparrows each morning). Impressed with the young men, Tandiman agreed to provide legal help. His first task, in conjunction with the visit of a legal representative from Church headquarters in Utah, was to draw up a charter to organize a yayasan (foundation) for the church. The yayasan was a legal necessity for the church to remain in Indonesia and for the missionaries to get visas.

.     

.          The missionaries not only found within Tandiman good professional help, they also found a willing investigator. Particularly nice was the fact that Tandiman knew English from attending the University of Chicago (1962-63) for advanced law training and he was willing to be taught—in English! He had even heard about Mormons while living in the United States. According to Tandiman, “the elders were good teachers.” He liked to learn and his heart told him that what they said was true. Also helpful in the conversion process were Ludi VanderHoeven and Brother Ibrahim—an elderly Indonesian who along with his wife had joined the Church the year before in the Netherlands, where they had traveled to get specialized eye treatment for her. Tandiman was baptized on September 19, 1970 by Elder Willard. His wife Lan and their eldest daughter Linda were also baptized that day. Five younger sons were all eventually baptized once they turned eight.

                   

BROTHER LADJAR'S BURIAL