The Solo missionaries and us at the Robert’s house. Bougainvilleas are everywhere. The first shot is at the airport, the second was taken at the Solo building looking at the neighbors. The last one is one at the Barnard’s house that not only has three colors on one bush but actually has two colors on one bloom – something we had not seen before.
05 October 2007 – Friday
Up at 3 a.m. to get ready for trip to Solo. Everything goes well and we even have a room ready when we arrive at the hotel at 8:00 a.m. We settle in, read from the Kitab Mormon, and rest some before Elder Roberts picks us up.
The Roberts’ house is amazing. Not only is it huge it is first class all the way. Even the garage has a beautiful tile floor. The one thing it does not have is air-conditioning except in one room. We have a good time talking to the Roberts before the elders start arriving for district meeting. They have invited all the missionaries in the district for lunch and the meeting to celebrate Elder Porter’s release next week.
The Roberts are doing a great job in their branches. They mention that they made 75 visits last month. They are working hard at getting people back to church. Elder Roberts mentioned they could use some help with their English classes and I suggested that they use either the one used at the MTC or the one that was developed by a missionary couple for teaching English as an international couple that we supplied on a CD at the couple’s conference. They could not find their copy so we will send them another.
It was good to see Elder Thiemann again – he is DL and may end up ZL after elder Porter has left. The number of missionaries are shrinking – there are two new ones coming in next week – so the president has a lot of shuffling to do. We had a great meal with Sloppy Joes and lots of other things. Then they held the DM – half in English and half in Indonesian. They seem to be having some success in Solo – they had 2 baptisms last week – but they do not seem to have many good investigators. Elder Porter gave a lesson on the thought that we must always put God above all. If we do this he can bless us and we will have joy in this life and insure joy through Eternal Life.
After the meeting it was picture taking time. Trying to get a dozen missionaries – and the seniors were not that much better than the young missionaries – to pose for a ‘serious’ picture is like herding rabbits.
After that we joined the Barnards and we went to their house. A lot smaller that the Roberts but perfect for them. They only have one air-conditioner but the house is small enough that it keeps it cool. They also leave it on all the time.
The Barnards are teaching Family History and how to use a computer. They tell us that only two families in the branch has computers. It shows that each senior couple has different talents and use them to help the members in different ways.
They then took us over to their chapel and showed us the ERS office – which is really a cabinet with a computer and printer. I guess the copy machine that we are sharing with CES is in the CES office. Hopefully sister Endang can use it when needed. Mary put some forms on the computer that Sister Endang can use for Workshops, etc.
The Barnards then took us back to the hotel and went on to teach one of their classes. We found that the Marchants had not yet arrived and decided that they had a later flight than we had heard. We read some more from the Kitab Mormon and I took a short nap. Earlier we talked to the Roberts and Barnards about getting together for dinner and inviting the Marchants. It worked out that sister Roberts did not feel good – sister Barnard told us that she has been having some problems – so the Marchants, Barnards and Piers walked to our favorite Chinese restaurant here in Solo.
I think the Barnards were a little worried about where we were going but once the food started arriving they dug right in. They especially liked the black pepper beef – it was my favorite also. There was a ton of food – more than we needed so the Barnards took the left-overs home for their driver’s family. During the meal, the president talked about cutting back the length of the block meetings to two hours. It is an interesting thought but I am not sure it will fly with the Area Presidency, but it shows that president Marchant is looking for ways to increase the activity of the members and empowering leaders. We spent about 90 minutes at dinner and everyone had a good time.
Just as we were about to get up and leave, a large rat ran out into the middle of the dining room, took one look at the crowd and ran away again. I am not sure that the Barnards and Marchants will be excited to go back again. I did notice that a man sitting right where the rat stopped, did not even blink an eye at its appearance. Since we just watched Ratatouille, I decided perhaps the rat was really the chef and he was just out checking how everyone was enjoying their food.
Back at the hotel Mary and I read once again from the Kitab Mormon. By the time we were done I was really tired and so my attempt to read did not last long before turning off the light on a good day.