Happy Birthday Grandma!

A Birthday Song for Grandma!

April

Wheelchair Deliveries
Our good friend Jemmy Mongan who has helped us so much with the family enrichment program mentioned that he had a good friend who belonged to a Christian Church that needed three wheelchairs for members of his church. After we got the wheelchairs shipped to various destinations like Surabaya, Central Java, Semarang, and Jogjakarta, where our couple missionaries were to distribute these chairs, we took three wheelchairs to his church one Sunday. That was quite the experience. There was a lady there who was 87 years old, who needed a wheelchair. We had taken one for her. Then we took some wheelchairs to a couple of older men who lived close by. As we went to the house of the one man we entered it and there was no furniture in the place that he lived, but in a small dark bedroom there a wooden bed with nothing else on it except a little man. He had a small rag, which looked like a small towel. The men lifted him into the wheelchair and wheeled it out into the sunshine. The preacher of the Christian Church told us that he had not been out of the bed for about 6 months. His little granddaughter jumped right up into his lap. It was so cute. We then took one to another man. Jemmy's friend was there also. We invited us to his place. He owns a little grocery store and he took us to his office and we talked to him about our church and the English classes. He was interested in both. Later Jemmy called and invited him to church next week. He said he would be there, but he wanted us to be there also. We went to church today and he was there and had a lot of questions about the church. He is going to attend District conference next week in Jakarta and bring his family.

We had a wheelchair ceremony on top of a mountain and was quite the sight. These are really poor people. Three people were brought and carried in. One woman who had brought her husband in was sitting there just sobbing. I went over to comfort her and she just hugged and hugged and hugged me. She spoke through an interpreter and said she just couldn't believe that anybody would care about them like that and just give them something that they needed so bad. Now her husband was crying. She showed me the bones that had been taken out of his hip of course that is all they did so he was not able to walk. So this was a gift to her as much as it was to him because now she could help him get around. It was very touching and brought tears to the eyes of us all. Before the ceremony was over there were about 20 men and woman who had a new wheel chair. Their faces were as bright as the sunshine that was all around us.

We went to another wheel chair ceremony. It is gratifying to be apart of being able to give something to someone in need. A family brought a picture of a teenager who had a tumor below her knee. Her leg was as big as a large cantaloupe. Then they showed a picture of her where they had amputated her leg below the knee. We gave them a wheelchair.

Family Enrichment

We now have a partner in the Family Enrichment Program (FEP) who is National Movement of the Social Interest. They will be implementing the FEP. This Non Government Organization (NOG) manages the Indonesian Social Affairs. Their government's mandate is to expand n1. National Health Care, 2. Education 3. Strengthening Families. They where looking for some way to strengthen families and we happened to be at the right place and the right time. We were about ready to give up when Elder Sugandriyo suggested that we talk to your good friend Parlin Purba is the Legislator for the Medan Region. He has handled 500 wheelchairs for LDSC in that Region for us and has been very much a friend. They made an appointment with Parlin Purba and that's all it took. He was able to direct us to National Movement of the Social Interest.

We have a couple here Bertha and Hendro (they are on the LDSC team) who are professional in the recording industries here. They are going to make a family home evening video to go with the Family Enrichment booklet. We spent the morning with them discussing what needed to be on the DVD. The DVD will have government leader's support and financial sponsor's statements. Offering a segment on how to organize family night, a family planning chart, and helpful hints for a "Weekly Family Night", ideas for lessons, and for activities, and clips of several families expressing how "Weekly Family Night" has strengthened their family. Events of this seminar will be televised and special attention will be given to the DVD clip on an Indonesian family ma family home evening which is anticipated to be repeated several times during the week. At the end of each DVD presentation of the family night, explanation will be made as to where a Family Enrichment Program manual can be obtained. It is intended that a copy of the DVD will be distributed with each family enrichment Program manual. The NGO is prepared to obtain sponsors enough to finance 100,000's of these manuals.

Then we went to another meeting and met with a group that are going to sponsor the whole seminar. The Lord really provided a way for his work to be done, because these people are amazing and they are going to pay for the whole thing and make all the arrangments for it. We are just going to have to support them. We are having some people come out from the BYU to speak and be involved in the seminar including the author of the FE booklet. They are impressed I think that we can come up with professional people who will come and be involved like this. Elder Palmer is helping them to also speak in 2 other countries here nearby. It is going to be on the 4th and 5th of July.

Water Projects

We have the clean water project started for Central Java which will carry over to North Sumatra in about four months. We went last week to Central Java for the opening ceremony. It seems that the Indonesian people like to have ceremonies for everything. Opening, then closing and next week we go to Bogor for ceremony for a clean water project which is in process, but just a different stage. At each of these ceremonies they have to have their Indonesian food, now that is something we could do without, especially in the rural areas of Indonesia where we question the way the food has been prepared and cooked. Most of the Indonesia food is cold when you eat it. Sometimes we think it has been around for days before it is eaten.

We just got word yesterday that another clean water project will be approved which will bring the total water project to four projects in process. These water projects are in different Regions of Indonesia whereas in the past they have mainly be in the Bogor Region. With these projects there will be nearly 200,000 people who will have clean water that have never had clean water before at an average cost of about $5.50 per person.

Medical Care

We had an appt with Dr Risma. We had taken some of the little beanie hats to her and she asked if we would come to her hospital and meet again. She took us into the nurseries where all the preemie babies and the babies who were in ICU. They had 4 full nurseries with babies. 1. Very critical care babies 2. Critical care babies 3. Serious care 4. Good. We saw a baby who was born with no skin covering over the stomach area. They had all of the little organs in a plastic bag (just like the way it was with Preston. They were working to increase the cavity so they could put them back into the area where they belonged. They have a lot of good equipment, but they told us they have to improvise a lot. Like the plastic bag they were using in this case. They had a baby that had just been born the day before and he weighed 2 ½ pounds, so tiny, but he was doing Ok. However they said they didn't have any more room there so his twin could not be brought there. So he would problem just die. This is a very poor hospital, however they said that parents can't afford the care that these babies need so they usually just abandon them. So most of these children if they make it are just sent to an orphanage. They said sometimes when the babies are better the parents will show up. There were 3 Drs we met there and they were all women. Very good Drs, but they have a lot of work there. They were caring for about 50 babies. They said that sometime they put 2 babies in one incubator, but they can't do that if they are critical care, but there is such a need and not enough equipment for everybody. They asked if we would be able to buy some baby scales for them. We are going to try and help them with this.

We got approval for 100 more Cleft Lip and Palate surgeries. Dad was really elated and almost jumped for joy. We have worked so hard to convince them that we needed to do these things. We had to prove to them that Smile Foundation were not doing any work here in Indonesia.

Missionary Work

Jemmy's friend who is Brother Weten asked us to come to his house. We drove quite a ways to his house when we got there is a grocery store which the family operates. Brother Weten has another job and his family manages the store. As we visited I explained that in our church we handle the Sacrament Service much different and he needed to come to our church. He said "I will do that".
He has a lovely wife and two daughters; I would guess about 14 and 16. Brother Weten came to church the next Sunday which was General Conference for us and he was overwhelmed with the feeling of the spirit as he entered the chapel. He brought a friend with him who works with Catholic Humanitarian Service. I offered some wheelchairs for him if he had some recipients who were in need. We haven't heard from him yet, but we feel we will hear from him. After Brother Weten and his friend heard about three speakers at General Conference Jemmy took them on a tour of the building telling them about the programs of the church and then we sat in the foyer of the church and told the Joseph Smith story. After we visit and answer many questions, Brother Weten asks, "How does one become a member of your church". The missionaries are now meeting with them; they seem to be very receptive to the message of the restored gospel. He said that he wants to bring his family back to church, he wants them to feel the feeling he felt when he walked into the chapel. Last Sunday he came and brought his family and his father. His mother would have been there but she had a small accident and stayed home. He is intrigued with the idea that the church is organized the same way the church was organized at the time of Christ and continuing revelation with a Prophet and apostles. His wife seems to be very interested as well as the daughters. We believe they will become members of the Church. They each have their own copy of the Book of Mormon.

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We went to Bandung on Thursday afternoon. That evening we went to a movie with the Davis. We went to Rin Tin Tin. It was a really fun movie. When we came out there was a couple behind us and they said we were sitting right behind us guys and notice how much you were laughing and enjoying the movie. They asked if we were Christian and we said yes. They were too. We talked to them for a while and told them about the English class at the church. They said they might come. They wanted to take our picture and got our email address. They have sent a copy of the picture already and said they hope to meet us again. You just never know when you are planting seeds for someone else to come along and convert them.