Bananas and Boroburdur

To start our blog today we will tell a tale of woe. I took these photos several days ago to show you the coconuts in the front and the bananas in our own back yard.  The bananas were about ready to be picked and I went out today to find them gone!!!!! In fact the whole tree was cut off.  My guess is that one of the gardeners was hungry.  He probably needed the bananas more than I did anyway. 

The missionary couple, us, hosted a fireside at their home again, but that meant feeding the branch.  The branch president, Ariyanto and his wife Christin volunteered to do the cooking. So we started out at the market, indoors but open air.  Of course all parts of the chicken were for sale, but we liked the dancer display.  We picked up vegetable, a wok, and even a ladle made from a stick and a coconut shell. 

This picture shows a roadside restaurateur making peanut sauce from scratch, grinding the chillis, the peanuts ,adding salty water, and other spices.  She then put it on vegetables  with crackers to make Lotek.  We just discovered this dish, so now Sister Jeffery' get's that gado-gado deliciousness without eggs, or tofu.

Here is the making of Ayam Goreng, aka fried chicken.  The cooks shared the recipe and we will have to share the wonders of its great taste when we get return stateside.

After eating up all the tasty chicken, members of the Magelang Branch settled in to listen to a presentation on family history work presented by Elder and Sister Lewis who came in from Solo.  The stake family history specialist, Wida, was her interpreter.  The excitement level was high as 32 people were involved in this activity, 10 of them are not members of the Church, yet.  The man below registering to do family history research is Suprijono.  He just recently started back to church and this was my first time to meet him.  

The young single adults set up a chain to get the folding chairs back into the garage.  Then they just enjoyed being together with their friend from Solo, Wida.  Goofy, fun bunch!

Borobudur is an ancient Buddhist temple located here in greater Magelang and visited by many tourists.  It was unusual for us  to see all the foreign tourists, but we sent most of the Indonesians who wanted pictures with white skin to the young missionaries.  The best luck comes when you touch the heal of the Buddha inside the stuppa, so Elder Jeffery extended his reach to make sure our visit was good. 

 Suprijono our guide worked here for 34 years and explained to us the stories from the carvings.  He also participated in the ongoing reconstruction effort which was somewhat botched at one point.  Evidently a Buddhist relic didn't get the appropriate care in a Moslem community over the years.  A Dutch man financed the first restoration when things were put back together without taking the time to always fit the puzzle. Blocks are patched in where some are missing  (Note top center block  of photo 2).  Nevertheless, it is an inspiring work 

One of Buddha's attributes as a youth was his skill at archery, here he fires an arrow through 7 trees.

In this story Buddha is reincarnated as a turtle where he enjoys the fishes.  Unfortunately he witnesses a large fish eat or capsize a boat with several passengers.

Buddha as a turtle saves the passengers by carrying them on his back to safety.

When the passengers run out of food he sacrifices his life by having them eat himself as a turtle.

At Borobudur we met the missionaries from Yogyakarta who'd coincidentally decided to tour the temple on the same day and time.  Being together was fun for us all.  We do admire all these young people who are great ambassadors of Jesus Christ.

The Magelang crew of 10 made it to Bro and Sister Suranto's restaurant for lunch.  Sitting on the floor at a low table is fun except when it starts to rain.   Okay, rain doesn't quite describe the buckets of water coming down.  One side of the table had water pouring in so everyone moved to the dry side.  That obviously didn't dampen enthusiasm though.  This is the place where Berta Suranto has built a significant hydroponic gardening facility, and the produce tasted great.

The missionaries are asked to do public service for a few hours a week and finally Elder Zollinger found a branch of the Magelang city public works that let us help.  So we cleaned up along the roadways with a crew.  A crew of workers but also included was a manager type fellow who took pictures, go figure?  They showed off all aspects of the city's trash collection process, including a crusher and the recycling separation and composting area below.

Of course, ultimately the main reasons we are here is to bring souls unto Christ.  The young man who's baptism was delayed last week, Hendrik, was baptized in the Hotel Trio swimming pool.  The arm in the photo is that of his mother, Elen, who wouldn't have attended last week when immigration officials delayed the process.
D& C 123:17 again, "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, 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."                         A sweet experience for us all.