President & Sister Rowley Indonesia Jakarta Mission: October 2016

October 2--8, 2016
Here are a few views from our apartment at night. We are on the 36th floor.

We had a massive rainstorm on October 4th during a District Training Meeting. A clogged atrium drain caused a flood inside the mission home--about one inch of water flooded through the sliding glass doors from the atrium into the main floor. This shot is outside -- the entrance from the street which also flooded. Anybody who tried to leave had to wade through a foot of water. I chose to wait it out until the water drained off into a nearby river. I think rainy season has officially begun and I'm carrying an umbrella and a pair of rubber Crocs to use for wading.

I remember how the grocery baggers at Basha's would always so kindly wheel my full basket out to the car and unload the groceries from the cart into my trunk. I joked a few times and asked them if they would please come home with me and unload them from the car into my kitchen...well now we have this very helpful young man who unloads the groceries from the car onto this lovely brass luggage cart and takes them up the elevator right into our kitchen. It's amazing!

Morning study with the Sisters.

General Conference is broadcast one week late here to allow for translation. We flew to Yogyakarta to attend the Saturday sessions and then took a five hour bus ride north to Semarang to watch the Sunday sessions. It was supposed to be a three hour ride--it's only 74 miles distance--but due to heavy rainstorms and traffic jams the whole way it took a lot longer. And someone got sick all over President's bag... But hey we squeezed in some shopping the day before (in the rain) and the incredible orchids here make up for a lot of other things!

Lots of Becaks on Marlioboro Street....and super bargains!

September 18--24, 2016

September 18, 2016 Happy Birthday Presiden Rowley!!!

On Presiden's birthday, we attended the Surabaya 2 Branch Conference. Presiden gave a wonderful talk--His Bahasa Indonesian is really great and he feels so blessed by the Spirit to be able to communicate in this language that he hasn't used in forty years. After church I went out with the Sisters and Presiden went out with the Elders. This is a beautiful church building a little bit out of the way with a neighborhood across the street and goats with the tallest legs I've ever seen.

On Monday we said farewell to our wonderful Humanitarian Missionary couple--Ken and Cheryle Mitchell. This was their second humanitarian mission and they spearheaded lots of great projects here in Indonesia such as Helping Babies Breathe, clean water wells, eye clinics and cleft palate repairs just to name a few. They will be greatly missed. They are wonderful people and we hope to see them whenever we next visit Utah. I don't have a picture of the farewell dinner (at Sister Mitchell's favorite Mexican Restaurant), so I'm including this one of the Mitchells on the right and our office couple Elder and Sister Moss on the left--both faithfully serving in the kitchen as they have done many times after missionary dinners and breakfasts in the mission home.

On Tuesday, we invited the Jakarta Stake President and his wife--Presiden and Sister Subiantoro--to dinner. Such amazing people and authentic Indonesian food! That's a fish and our drinks are coconut milk flavored with lime juice that you squeeze in to taste served in the real coconut.

Our wonderful Assistants to the Presiden--Elder Lovelock and Elder Wibowo with Presiden on a lunch break to the neighborhood warung for street food. I love the contrasts shown in this pic between the high rise buildings and the humble homes and businesses that make up so much of Jakarta.

On Thursday we visited Suharto in his home. He was the first Indonesian missionary and his first companion was Elder Rowley. Wonderful to meet him and his lovely wife...we hope to see more of them!

On Friday, we flew to Surabaya (again! yes we were just there last weekend) for a Coordinating Council with all the leaders in Indonesia and Elder Meredith from Singapore. He's a wonderful servant of the Lord--super creative and intelligent!

While Presiden was in the Council I met with the Sisters. We did companion study and then visited and taught several sisters.

I took this picture from a taxi in Surabaya because the three boys playing in a ditch reminded me that some things are universal--like boys, water and wading--but now I'm more fascinated by the machine in the foreground. It looks pretty fancy to be mounted on a human powered cart.

In the Jakarta Airport I learned how to trace a pattern with a stylus filled with hot wax to do the first step in making Batik fabric. Then I admired the incredible orchids in the airport.

We left Surabaya Saturday night and flew to Bali for the Bali Branch Conference on Sunday. This was the first time either of us had been to Bali.

September 25--October 1, 2016

Branch Conference in Bali--Most of the Leaders in the top photo! The second picture is of Alma and Claire. He is a young returned missionary elder from Indonesia who served here with Dean and Jean Jensen as his mission president and wife. He moved to Australia to work as a DJ and was hired to DJ at a YSA Conference there, where he met his lovely bride-to-be. They now work in Bali as wedding photographers.

Uluwatu Temple Cliffs. The Balinese like to dress up their elephants...and other statues. This black and white buffalo check was everywhere!

Monkeys were everywhere too.

We hired the ward clerk, Seohol, to show us Bali. Balinese dancing, silver and batik, Hindu temples, a waterfall and monkey forest. Bali is 90 percent Hindu while the island of Java where we live is 90 percent Muslim.