13 August 2009 – Thursday

I woke this morning and found this wonderful e-mail waiting for us.

Hello Elder/Sister Pier:

 

Hanny works at Ashton Hotel in Ancol, he is very happy and earn enough to buy to new motor cycle last week.  He is active in the Church, super guy!!  The GM at the Ashton hotel is a member from the English speaking branch.  Of course Hanny applied for the job through regular selection.  He was told only to speak English during interview and he did and was accepted.  Another young man, a returned missionary  (Sandi Pagalla) works there too.  You now see the fruit of your efforts teaching them intensive English for a  month.  Remember Erna from Jogja, she is applying scholarship to study in USA through Fulbright scholarship from USA.  She was also one of your students.

 

Elder/Sister Pier, thank you so much for your service in Indonesia.  President Marchant and I have been talking a plan for the 40th celebration of the Church in Indonesia next year.  One of the plan would be sending 40 pioneers who never been to the temple to Manila temple.  We will make join effort to raise funding to pay for their travel to Manila. 

 

We got the camera for the AV training from Japan.  I was lobbying privately with my contact in HQ AV department, and they found cascaded camera in Japan and we got it.  It’s still in good condition and it works.  The teacher is a brother from Srilanka.  He came to Jakarta a month ago seeking political asylum because his life was in danger as he is a Tamil. In Srilanka he owned AV company so is very knowledgeable in that field.  Yoyok from Bekasi will be teaching cameraman.  Now, you see the tender mercy of God.  The spirit never goes wrong, doesn’t he? When something is true…it’s true.  We both felt that AV training was true, even though we didn’t get support from the “authority”…I felt it was still true.  Now, God works in His own way to make it happen.

 

We are proud and love you Elder/Sister Pier.  Our English program is still

running in Jakarta, Tues-Thursday, but no more intensive program in the other

branches, no more couples, only one in Malang.  Well, we do what we have and I know…yes, I know…Heavenly Father knows our heart and our dreams.  He will find His way to accomplish His purpose in every lands and nations.  What we need is to seek inspiration what need to be done and through hard work and diligent try the very best to accomplish it.

 

We love you and proud of your service as missionary couple.

 

Dengan kasih,

Elder SBY

 

While it outlines some of the things we were a part of in Indonesia, what it did for me was to remind me that it is the Lord’s church and His work that we do. That although we might want to accomplish everything immediately, He is in control and we just must do our best, have faith, and have patience. As elder Subandriyo so often said to me – Elder Pier we do what we can do and trust in Lord.

It is a lesson that I really needed this morning as I thought about what we had learned at the meeting yesterday from Elder Koelliker. It also reminded me how Elder Subandriyo was always looking for ways to help the members move ahead. I am so glad that we were able to work with him while we served in Indonesia.

I felt that we should share this with our family and friends so I sent it out as an e-mail. Maybe it will help some couple decide to put in their papers for a mission.

I am just putting this in so I can come back and write about the great meeting that we attended today

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Packing up – I forgot to take a picture of the beautiful morning sky at Little Haven

Elders Mbhiti and Kaserema – I did not realize that Elder K goes home in a couple of weeks. We worked with him for a couple of cycles in Swaziland and found him to not only a hard working elder and good district leader but also a lot of fun. I will have to send him an e-mail and wish him good luck. I really do not know Elder Friel very well but have seen and talked to him at a couple of conferences. He is big and as you can see is proud to be a missionary. The last picture is not Elder Peterson taking off his coat to fit Elder Friel with Elder Mokopotsa as his second. Elder Peterson has been sick since Monday with a terrible head cold and wanted to take his coat off so he could get a little cooler.

Our zone with Elder and Sister Koelliker and Elder and Sister Mann. Note elder Richy at the far left of the top row striking his famous picture pose. The next one is again deceiving. Sister Mann is not directing a choir of elders, she is trying to organize another zone for a picture. We did find that there is a problem when you put native Africans against a dark blue curtain to take a picture.

11 August 2009 – Tuesday

 

It was nice to see blue sky this morning.

We went with the Bartholomews to Durban for a Mission Tour meeting tomorrow with Elder and Sister Koelliker and three zones. We were supposed to leave about 10:00 but they had an emergency food order so we did not get off until about 11:00. I would like to say that we spent the extra time studying, but actually we spent it reading.

The trip to Durban takes between 90 minutes and two hours but we usually stop along the way to have lunch at the seaside city of Ballito. It is an upscale residential/resort town which has lots of excellent stores, art galleries, and good restaurants.

The Guinea Fowl – The Mission Office – Elder Sessions – the auto repair expert!

We ate lunch at a restaurant specializing in sea food and I had one of the best Kingklip fillet of the mission. It was cooked just right and had a light lemon butter sauce. I will certainly come back again on some p-day or on another trip to Durban. While we were there we also bought a couple of small ceramic crested guinea fowls. I have no idea why this bird fascinates us but it does.

Our first stop in Durban was, as usual, the mission office where we found almost everyone was out at lunch. But we got to talk to the assistants for a few minutes before they ran off on an errand and then the rest of the folks when they returned.

Elder and Sister Sessions, the office couple, are leaving in about a month and there are no replacements in site. In fact as far as we know there are no couples coming over the next few months when three couples will be leaving. I guess that the economic times and the lack of couples sending in their papers is causing a loss of couple missionaries in most missions. The Sessions not only run the office, but elder Sessions also serves in a branch presidency in one of the township branches.

 

We then went to Little Haven, the bed and breakfast run by the Rawlings that we first stayed in when we arrived in Durban 7 months ago. They are a delightful  and faithful couple.

After unpacking we went out on the deck and was surprised to find sister Koelliker was also there. When we left the mission office we were told she was with Sister Mann in the mission home. But it turned out they had dropped her off at the B&B so she could relax while her husband and president Mann had a meeting.

We had enough time to get to know her a little and we shared information about our families, where we have lived, etc. I asked her what she thought when they received the call to serve in South East Africa. She said they had a meeting with President Monson who spent the time sharing some experiences, telling stories, and talking about families. It was not until they were at the door of his office getting ready to leave that he said “ Oh did I mention you are going to serve in the South East Africa Area.”

She said that she did not have any reluctance to serve where called but often when she told others they thought she was kidding. I am afraid Africa has does not have a good reputation among the general population.

We had arranged to have dinner with the Bartholomews and Sessions at a French Restaurant that is not open on Monday nights which is when we are usually in Durban for meetings. It is in a small mall not far from the mission home and when we got there it was open but empty.  We got to meet the owner and his wife, have a nice meal, and enjoyable company.

The interior of the restaurant – excellent art. The Piers, Bartholomews, and Sessions. I think sister Sessions has a great smile in this candid shot – elder Sessions saw it coming

I ordered Escargots as an appetizer but was disappointed when I found that they were cooked whole and not ground up and stuffed back in the shell like the other times I had them. The only person who would try them was elder Bartholomew the rest were happy to let us eat them all.

We got back to our B&B fairly early and I spent most of my time trying to catch up this journal. When I get three or four days behind it takes me forever to catch up. But I managed to write four days worth but I could not put the pages on our blog because the internet connection was not strong enough.

I came across this on line and thought it would be good to add to this blog – I especially like the one about how far a baby falls at birth. And we worry about dropping an infant 6 inches…

Giraffe Facts

The Giraffe – DID YOU KNOW?

• Eat up to 75 pounds of food a day (typically Acacia leaves)
• Favorite food – Acacia Leaves
• Tongue is 18 inches long
• Have a four chambered stomach and will regurgitate their food for additional chewing – similarly to a cow.
• Typically get most of their water from the Acacia leaf, but will drink up to 10 gallons of water per day.
• Knobs are called Ossicones
• Although rarely heard, Giraffes can moo, hiss, roar and whistle to communicate with one another
• Have the longest tail of any land mammal – up to 8 feet long, including the tuft at the end.
• Giraffes at the San Diego zoo enjoy raw onions as a special treat
• Ancient Romans and Greeks thought that the Giraffe was a mix between a camel and a leopard. This is where their scientific Genus name of “camelopardalis” comes from.
• Their heart is 2 feet long and weighs about 25 pounds
• The heart’s muscular walls are several inches thick
• They have the highest known blood pressure of any mammal in the world – up to 280/180mm Hg when prone at heart level (approximately twice that of an average human)
• Their heart beats up to 170 times/minute
• Jugular vein contains a series of one way valves that prevent the back flow of blood when the Giraffes head is down to drink water. This prevents the Giraffe from blacking out.
• The heart pumps about 16 gallons of blood/minute
• Oxpeckers(tick birds) are often seen “hitching” a ride on the backs of Giraffes. They help keep the Giraffe parasite free by eating ticks and other parasites off of the Giraffes skin.
• Extreme care must be taken when scientists catch Giraffes for study or for capture for a zoo exhibit. If the Scientists run the Giraffe too long, the Giraffe will suffer a heart attack due to its high blood pressure. Scientists typically target younger Giraffes for this reason.
• Have no tear ducts, although they have been seen crying
• Have never been observed bathing
• Mom Giraffes form a type of daycare for their young. One of the females in the heard will stay behind and baby sits all of the youngsters while the rest of the females go out foraging for food.
• Despite its extreme length, the Giraffes neck is actually too short to reach the ground. As a result, it has to awkwardly spread its front legs or kneel on its front legs in order to reach the ground to drink water.
• It is the tallest animal in the world
  • Males stand 16-18 feet; Females 14-16 feet
  • Males weigh up to 2,000 pounds; Females a bit lighter
• Females use their hooves as weapons only to defend their young.
  • They are strong enough to kill a lion, which is the Giraffe’s only real predator.
• Born with horns
  • Both males and females have them.
  • Covered with skin
  • Males are thicker and heavier and are used sometimes to fight other males.
• Only found naturally in Africa
• Their tongue is black
• Can gallop 31-37 miles per hour
• Form herds and travel together for protection
  • Their average territorial range is approximately 46 square miles
  • Males known as bulls
  • Females known as cows
• Can rest standing up
  • Usually only sleep 5 minutes at a time
  • When sleeping, the giraffe generally lies on the ground, tucking its front legs under itself, then curls its neck back and rests its head on its rump.
• Females have their first conception in their fifth year.
  • Gestation period is 15 months
  • Interval between births is generally 20 months
  • Life expectancy of 25 years in the wild
  • A baby is generally 6 feet tall and will weigh about 150 pounds at birth
  • A baby will fall approximately 6 feet during birth before hitting the ground
  • A baby will begin nursing within one hour
  • A baby will generally also begin walking within one hour
• They spend between 16 and 20 hours a day feeding