Even with the bandages you can see the difference in the before and after pictures
16 June 2007 – Saturday

It was difficult to get up this morning and it was only because we had to be in early that I finally got up. Then it was a big rush to get everything done so we would have time to read from the Kitab Mormon.

An e-mail from the Kanes up in Bogor told of their experience yesterday:

On Thursday we cancelled our afternoon teaching appointment to be able to be at the military hospital where all of the children and their families came to register for the hare-lip operations. It was a very moving as these sweet children came to a place where they hoped to get help with the terrible blight on their appearance. 57 children registered and 4 others tried to register but they had not gone through their community clinic, so they were not accepted. Most of the children were there to have the hare-lip repair while some of them came to have the cleft palate repairs. The surgeons were limited to 10 cleft palate repairs and 15 kids showed up for that procedure so 5 had to be sent home disappointed. In the evening we taught our English class and attended our Zone meeting.

Friday was a very emotional as we went to the hospital to watch the process of the surgeries being done. It was an amazing thing to be a part of and I was permitted to go into the operating rooms to observe, it will not be soon forgotten. Of the 52 remaining   children, only 35 were deemed healthy enough to undergo the surgery.  The main reason was a low hemoglobin count due to malnourishment, a common problem here. There was also a high incidence of Tuberculosis among the children. The results from their blood tests were not available until Friday morning, after the blood was taken on Thursday afternoon. The staff then had the sad task of notifying the families of  the children could not receive their operation now. The remaining candidates were from 4 months to 14 years old.

The actual process of preparing for surgery was heartbreaking as many of the children fought to resist the needles or from being taken from their parents to enter the operating rooms. Loving parents did all they could to comfort their children while fighting their own tears and emotions. Some little children were unbelievably brave, but few so brave they could avoid breaking down when separated from their parents for the surgery. Sister Kane tried to provide some comfort and relief to both parents and children. She bought many boxes of coloring pencils and books for the children to draw pictures. She made dozens of paper boats and airplanes for the children and bought stickers that the children loved to have placed on their little hands.   It was a hot day, even by Indonesian standards, and her kindness and generosity was able to provide some relief from the heat and the tension.

As the children slowly started to reappear after the surgery, it was difficult to get a really good picture of their little mouths as they all had bandages over their top lip. You could however see the miracle of change, as many of the children that had suffered from grotesque deformities now looked quite normal, despite the bandages.   Most were still asleep under the influence of the anesthetic and looked like little angels with a fake white moustache. It was all very moving. In those cases where cleft palates had been repaired there was not much evidence at all.

The surgery was financed by LDS Charities…it is the kind of life changing projects the Kanes will spend their whole mission doing. It is too bad that other parts of the country does not get the same attention because there are no Humanitarian missionaries serving there.

In the afternoon Mary took the first 45 minutes and then we divide up into two groups. I took the ones who would be giving their talks tomorrow and Mary kept the rest. I had Vita, Toni and Agus go through their talks twice. Once to get the practice and the second time I taped them. Vita and Toni will be fine, I am not sure how Agus will do. He is trying really hard but he is just behind the others. After that I had the three of them do vocabulary and then tenses. Agus just did not get it – I will not put him with this group again. He needs to be with those who are closer to his level so he does not feel bad. I think I will try to spend some personal time with him in the coming week – we will work on his basic needs. Vita and Toni aced everything except some of the tenses. We need to go back and cover them again – if those two do not get it, none of them will.

At the last minute we found that they needed to be at Joel’s at 5:30 instead of the 6:00 we were planning for. So we quickly closed up the class and sent them off. We then closed down the office and went out to catch a cab to head back to the apartment. As we were approaching the curb up came a cab and we hardly had to break stride to get in.

We were beat by the time we got home but it was late enough that we did not take naps. We ordered in pizza – our weekend treat – and watched a movie about Stephen Hawkings that was quite good. After that we read from the Kitab Mormon before heading for bed. It was a busy but satisfying day.