03 February 2007 – Saturday

We were going to get organized and clean up the apartment today but the Humanitarian effort is not going to allow us to do that. But a messy apartment is nothing compared to the loss of homes and possessions that this continual rain is causing thousands of poorer people in Jakarta.

Here I sit in an expensive apartment, warm, dry and having just eaten breakfast while they are in some temporary camp wondering if they are going to get a meal today, if they will be able to get back into their home anytime soon, and things like that.

I slept like a rock. The alarm woke me and I was the first one at the gym. I did an easy 30 minutes on the bike – it went fast because I was watching Tom Hanks in ‘Big’ and trying to read the Indonesian sub-titles. It really is an entertaining movie.

Back at the apartment I was just sitting down to write in this journal when Mary yelled that there was someone at the door.Since she was in no condition to answer it was a good thing that I was already dressed. It turned out to be the Jakarta Post delivery person who wanted to collect his money for February. Remembering elder Leishman’s warning about getting a receipt, I had him sign for the cash and he will bring me back a receipt on Monday.

We read from the Kitab Mormon – reading continues to become easier but we still have a long ways to go when it comes to speaking and hearing the language. With the Lord’s help we will achieve our goals to be able to teach in Bahasa Indonesian.

We arrived at the tent kitchen at about 9:00 and the work was already under way. I managed to immediately cut one of my fingers while trying to chop green beans. I did better with onions and soybean cakes. President Jensen arrived with a load of missionaries and they pitched right in. I am sure for some of them it was the first time they had peeled and chopped up so many different foods.

With all of this help, we put together 300 lunch meals. This includes traditional foods based on rice, vegetables, eggs and a small amount of meat. It is wrapped in a waxed paper, tied with rubber bands and a spoon is slid under the band. This an a serving of good water is a serving for one meal.

During the morning Elder Subandriyo asked me to write a short article to send to the Church News and the Liahona – the Church magazine in Indonesia. I wrote the following:

Mr. Saragih:

Here is the story and some pictures I promised to send you. I hope that you can use them in your magazine

Elder William Pier
Gereja Yesus Kristus dari Orang-Orang Suci Zaman Akhir

Jakarta, Indonesia – Saturday, February 3, 2007

On February 1, the worst floods since the disastrous one of 2002 hit Jakarta, Indonesia. Throughout Jakarta, almost 50,000 people were driven from their homes by the quickly rising waters.

By the next morning, February 2, the members of the Jakarta Selatan branch working under a grant from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Charities, had started working on gathering food supplies and setting up a kitchen to prepare two meals a day for 500 of the people who had to relocate to temporary camps. The members of the branch are not strangers to this situation. During the floods of 2002 for over a week they supplied three meals a day for 500 people.

Since it was still raining heavily, a crew set up a large tent for protection and moved in the needed cooking equipment. While the kitchen was being set up the sisters purchased the food. By early afternoon, the stoves were cooking rice and other food was being prepared for cooking. Through the efforts of dedicated men and women, by six in the evening the first load of food was distributed to anyone in need.

On Saturday morning the cooking started early and the members of the branch were joined by missionaries from the Jakarta Indonesia Mission serving in the area. The Elders and Sisters pitched in and did whatever needed to be done. Guided by smiling sisters of the branch, young men quickly learned to peel garlic, cut green beans and other tasks that are not usually part of their missionary efforts.

The work is not easy, the tent captures the heat from the stoves, but there is never a word of complaint. But there are lots of busy hands and smiling faces that reflect the feelings within each person who is helping because they know that when they are serving those who are less fortunate than themselves they are also serving God.

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By the time it was done it was time to make the first delivery. I went along to take some pictures to include with the article. We traveled to a center that was being run by the Catholic Relief and dropped off our meals. Some of the elders went along and help deliver the food. We were disappointed that we were not able to give any of the meals directly to the people, but realized that our food was only a small amount of what was needed for the many hundreds who were in the temporary camp. We did get to talk to some of the people. Although their homes were covered with up to 10 feet of water and many of their few possessions lost, we did not see any sadness in their eyes. In fact they smiled and talked with the elders. One woman was about 8 ½ months pregnant and she was one of those who were happy to talk and smile.

On the way back to the church the driver stopped on a bridge where we could see one of the flooded areas. What was once streets were now waterways. The humble homes were often buried to their roofs in brown water. I took a lot of pictures but nothing can really show the disaster that continues to be caused.

While we were gone work had not stopped and more meals were being created. I help Elder Subandriyo move a sign that announced our ‘Public Kitchen.’ As I was looking at it I thought that we should have something like that on the vehicles that deliver the food. So I went to the computer and created one that would fit on a sheet of paper. John – the Petersen’s driver – laminated the sheets and taped them all around the delivery vehicles.

I was introduced to a reporter from a magazine that is sent to all the churches in Indonesia. He did not have a camera with him so I volunteered to send him some of my pictures along with the story I had written. Hopefully we will get some publicity from this.

We then took out another 400 meals to a different camp. This one was much larger – there seemed to be 2000-3000 being sheltered. Once again we were only able to deliver the meals and not distribute them. But it did not matter. What mattered was that we were doing good in the world.

At this point I must say that I do not handle the heat well at all. Inside the tent there are six stoves going at once. Add this to the normal Jakarta heat and humidity and it is truly like an oven. I work for a while and then must get out of the tent and cool down. Mary does much better than I do – she has proven to be a real trooper- she has set for hours cutting and peeling. So have Elder and Sister Petersen and the young sisters and elders. Of course the major part of the work is done by the Indonesian sisters and brothers. They just pitch in and work for hours on end. What surprised me was that the married and older men are able to peel and chop vegetables with the best of the women. I guess it means in an Indonesian house the men help out with the meal preparation. The younger men will work but they are also likely to find a place to gather and avoid work. But when they do work they also work hard.

By the time we got back from second deliver the food preparation was over for the day. There was another 170 meals to be delivered but we passed on going this time. I wanted to get home and e-mail off the article and some pictures.

When we did get home, Mary got on the computer and down loaded the pictures I have been taking. I then figured out how to edit some of them and make them available for e-mailing. She then wrote letters and sent them to friends and family. She also typed my article into this computer so I could send it to those I had promised.

While this was going on I ordered some dinner from the little place in the complex. It was the first real meal I had eaten today. They had provided lunch at the kitchen but the traditional food is too spicy for my taste and so I did not eat much. Mary on the other hand seemed to love it. She is becoming a real Indonesian.

We wanted to go to bed but we had to stay up to watch the final episode of Amazing Race Asia. It was the first one here and it was won by a team of two women who worked together. It is the first time that any AR has been won by a team of women. I really liked watching this race because the people are not noisy and quarrelsome as the Americans.

Now I have managed to stay up until after 11. I hear the rain pouring down outside. More bad news for Jakarta and more work for us. Tomorrow we will go to church and then head back to the kitchen to help prepare meals. I am sure we will have a lot more helpers from those who will stay after church.