Temple Trip and Penultimate Month

As our mission approaches the end we enjoyed the culmination of many hours of  teaching and preparation.  On November 8th we accompanied 28 saints from the Surakarta Stake to the Manila Temple in the Philippines

The trip began with stake conference.  It was a joy to see many members that are now such good friends.  The choir began the conference singing "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" and both of us were in tears.  We have gone many places through the years feeling that we have gone where the Lord wanted us to be.  These last two years have felt especially directed by the Holy Ghost.  The next place the Lord wants us to go is home to our family and friends, so we are saying goodbye.  We were given the opportunity to share our testimonies at the conference.  We both spoke of our love for the gospel and love for the saints in Indonesia.  With the gift of tongues even  Sister Jeffery managed to give her talk in Indonesian.  She wanted  her feelings to be heard in their language without going through a translator.  In many ways, mission accomplished.

After the conference many members of the stake gathered for a sendoff as the bus departed for Jakarta.  Their enthusiasm for the temple is amazing.  They anxiously are waiting for when a temple can be built in Indonesia.  Until then, keep making donations to the Temple Patron Assistance Fund which helped most of these saints supplement their own funds and make the trip.

The trip began with a sixteen hour bus ride to Jakarta.  It is about 350 miles but roads and traffic are notorious here.
We stopped for a bathroom break and snacks and stretching our legs was the most desired rest.  Elder Jeffery found a sleeping mask helpful, but we didn't have much in the way of pillows.  We took care of that in Manila and we are now proud of owners of matching neck pillows.
Our colorful bus was easy to identify even in the dark.  The break was a great time for Elder Jeffery to discuss plans with the leader of the group Chokie.  He has made the trip several times and represented the stake.  Only five of  the Indonesians in the group had been to the temple before.

After a rest at a simple hotel, we arrived at the airport for a midnight flight to the Philippines.  The airport was a bit  chaotic but enthusiasm was running high

Upon arrival we checked into patron housing.  Very nice dormitory style, with a cafeteria serving Filipino food.  We loved it but some of the Indonesians brought their own sambal to make it spicy enough for them. 

Without delay we moved on to the office for paperwork before entering the temple.  Sister Jeffery ended up doing a lot of translation work for the sisters and with paperwork snafus she became well acquainted the the recorders office staff.  The staff at the temple were as accommodating as we could have asked for.

Our group included two newlywed temples one of which was
blessed to have parents accompany them.  three olderwed couples
a family of six being sealed, a sister and her son being sealed to a deceased husband, five single sisters being sealed to their deceased husbands or taking out their own endowments, one brother taking out his personal endowment, our stake leader and ourselves.

We had a delicious dinner with the Palma family.
They are old friends from Houston.  The son is the caterer
for the MTC and patron housing cafeteria.  So we could
give rave reviews to the man in charge of the menus.
This meal however was at an amazing restaurant with
a plethora of Asian foods to try.

We were so busy with temple work that we didn't have time
for a group photo until we were on our way to the
airport.  We stopped to see the cathedral as it is
a important historical place.  We also stopped at
the mall for souvenirs and, for us, neck pillows.

We tried out a selfie pole with mixed results.  Our expressions certainly reflect that.

Here is our proof we were actually in Manila photo.  These buses are all over the city.

On to the airport!!!!  Our leader Chokie knew the trek to the gate through the concourse was a long one.  So he arranged for a cart for our older saints.  They were delighted with the ride after a long day.  But the day wasn't over as we flew to Jakarta and were picked up by the bus at our midnight arrival.  It  was another long bus ride to make our way home.  But, neck pillows really helped this time.  

Once back home we hosted Elder/Doctor and Sister Orton.  They serve in the Hong Kong LDS Asia area service center where he is the consulting doctor and she processes missionary applications.  They were on a hospital inspection tour and we helped with transportation, navigation and translation.   In return we learned about our area hospitals and made wonderful new friends.

It was fun to share our favorite foods.  We met with the Bishop of the Yogjakarta  Ward and enjoyed some Javanese food.  The big guy in the back is Semar, the Javanese folk character who goes around helping the people.  Our driver Ari likens him to Superman.

Another visit to Borobudur.  I think it is our 15th.  We are getting to be quite the guides.  This a good picture for showing how big the Buddhist temple is.  

We also met up with our mission president and his wife at the Hindu temple ruins of Prambandan.  President Rowley has the gift of being able to talk with anyone and everyone.  He is great example for our missionaries.   He was with Elder Jeffery 40 years ago here in Indonesia and is getting his Indonesia back up to speed really fast.
The sun was shining and it was warm as it usually is.  The umbrellas were a big help.

d

A week or so later, Elder and Sister Evans form the Asia Area Presidency came for a visit.  Our trip to Prambandan was quite different.

President Rowley decided that Elder and Sister Evans needed to see Prambandan.  It had been raining during the meeting and with hopes of it letting up, we took off with a tight schedule to get back.   They were impressed with Mel’s driving, voted better than most taxi drivers.  Traffic angels were working overtime and we made great time to and from.

Arrived at Prambanan where it had been raining for a while too.  Lots of water. With umbrellas in hand we started in.  It started coming down hard.  Mel and I had Sister Evans in tow, President was with Elder Evans and Sister Rowley had stayed in the car to answer phone calls from sick missionaries.  

We made our way through the puddles, and accepted the fact that the umbrellas were only emotional support.  Figured we had come this far we should at least see the place.  We made it to the temples but the area around the temples is dirt and with several inches of flowing water, it was a muddy mess.  We stopped for a few pics and started back laughing all the way.  President Rowley and Elder Evans had chickened out and we met them back at the gate.  

We were soaked. Sister Evans was able to change clothes we returned to the chapel. She had to sit up front for the devotional and look beautiful.  Oh yeah, she had to give a talk too. I  had to spend the next hour drying out with just body heat.   

We were happy we made it back for the evening program and enjoyed stories of their lives that were very inspirational.  

Our sweet little, store front church is no more.  In preparation for the new building, the workmen came by and took the podium, ac units, light fixtures, ceiling tiles, doors and door frames to reuse in the new building.  

So for the last three weeks our home has been the interim church building.
Our home is bigger than the old church so things have worked very well.

Even English class and missionary meetings
are being held here

We are sooooooooo excited about the new building.  It really is an old dutch home.  That means the building predates WWII.  But the remodeling is going well and it is looking really nice.  

 The members of the Magelang branch have been doing lots of organizing as the Open House is approaching fast.  Assignments have been made and lots of the members are involved.  Sister Meme is in charge of the food committee.  She spent several days visiting sisters in the branch to solicit their ideas and support.  She is a powerful force in bringing the Relief Society together.  It should be a tasty result.    Displays are being prepared by each of the auxiliaries.  Invitations have been printed and the members and missionaries are delivering them.  Lots of enthusiasm.

The new building is looking good but the workers are still busy. 

We will get pics for our last mission blog to share in a short few weeks.  

We are pleased to announce that the Magelang branch is growing.  Christopher Moses was born November 17th and he is everyone's delight.

Stepped in  to help with Young Women's one Sunday when Sister Sri was ill.  The girls wanted  an activity to make a cake, like birthday cake.  They even came up with a picture of a Black Forest cake.
The best day for the activity was the next day.  Wow things can move fast around here.  Ezra's male friend Bagus wanted to join us so it became a combined YM/YW activity just that quick.

Welllll, our cakes are tasty but we usually outsource fancy decorating.  We did our best with tasty results.  The cake looked reasonably good too.  But in fear of a failure, Sister Jeffery backup planned the activity with decorating sugar cookies too.  Yum yummmm

The course we have been teaching with our Institute class is The Doctrine of the Eternal Family.  We thought it appropriate to share Families Can Be Together Forever artwork with them.  Thank you Sister Bulleigh.
It has been a delight to share as we testify of our love for the temple and our family.  It hangs proudly in many homes now as encouragement for plans to attend the temple and a reminder of the blessings we can receive there.   

Final fun shot, just outside the restaurant one day.  With mom, three children and the dog,
it is fiver!!!!