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News Item: Reunion Report
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| Reunion Report | 05 Apr 2006 |
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Indonesian Reunion Report—March 31, 2006 Many friends of Indonesia gathered for a reunion on Friday March 31st. The largest group seemed to be all of the senior missionaries (mostly humanitarian service couples). Terima kasih to Sister Josephine Hetarihon for organizing the gathering. In addition to good food and good visiting we were all treated to wonderful reports about the growth of the church in Indonesia. Brother and Sister Turley reported on their family history work in gathering and submitting the names of thousands of Indonesians—including royal lines which are part of the ancestral lines of several Indonesian members. One line goes through Mohammad all the way back to Adam. Brother and Sister Shipley reported on their efforts to facilitate funding for first time temple visits for Indonesians and of their rewarding trip to the Hong Kong Temple with a group of Indonesian Saints. Brother Palmer reported on his involvement with tsunami relief. He mentioned two miracles: 1) the contribution by Saints around the world to tsunami relief and 2) the response of the Indonesian Saints in administering relief. He said that “the Saints in Indonesia responded in a beautiful way.” He compared the tireless efforts of Elder Subandriyo to that of Captain Moroni. He then showed a DVD with images of the tsunami devastation and of church relief efforts. We were then privileged to see a DVD of Pres and Sister Jensen reporting from the mission home in Jakarta. They spoke of the good work being done by the elders and sisters (80 missionaries) in the Indonesia Jakarta Mission. Pres. Jensen then explained how Indonesia has influenced the church. In 1815 the enormous eruption of Mt Tambora on the island of Sumbawa lead to what was known as the “year without summer” due to the massive amount of particulates thrown into the atmosphere which then led to a very cold summer. This year without summer in 1816 prompted thousands of farmers in Vermont to move on to greener pastures. This exodus included the Smith family who moved to Palmyra. Had Tambora not erupted, the Smiths may have stayed put and Joseph would not have been in the right place at the right time to receive the plates. Pres. Jensen also explained that Columbus was setting out for the spice islands of the East Indies when he discovered the West Indies and the Americas. Finally, Elder Subandriyo responded to questions from the crowd. Some of his replies include the following information: 1. The government currently has approved 50 visas for foreign missionaries 2. The per capita baptism rate has stayed the same even with the addition of more foreign missionaries. 3. There are close to 6,000 members. There is an increase in tithe payers and a stronger priesthood leadership base. The greatest church growth is in Jakarta with two branches in Bekasi, two in Tangerang, one in Selatan and one in Kota. The Tangerang branch meets in a newly dedicated chapel built in five remodeled rukos (rumah toko). One Tangerang Brach has a primary with 50 children. The Jakarta Selatan branch has a weekly attendance of 130 which is more than the chapel can hold. Bob Hasibuan is doing a good job in that branch as its Branch President. Growth in the Bogor Branch means that the Bogor chapel is no longer big enough and so plans are in the works to add an extension. Solo has the most members and one day may be the site of the first stake. 4. Indonesian laws prevent churches from loaning money and so it has been a struggle to get the Perpetual Education Fund established. Plans are now in the works to use a bank in Jogja to facilitate the PEF loans using collateral from the church. 5. The growing traffic problems in Jakarta have prompted Elder Subandriyo to take up motor cycling—a much more efficient way to negotiate the macet roads. By car it takes Subandriyo 1 hour to travel 6 kilometers from his home to the office. 6. Tusnami relief from the church has helped build strong relations with Muslim organizations in Indonesia. 7. The First Presidency has approved a project to build 1,100 homes in twelve villages in Aceh (see Bishop Burton’s conference talk for additional information). In addition the church has rebuilt a rehabilitation center (which will be dedicated soon) and has supplied a computer lab and library in an Islamic School in Banda Aceh. One more update: For the first time ever, all five sessions of General Conference were interpreted into Indonesian. For the past twenty or so years only three sessions have been interpreted. Usually segments of recordings of conference were watched in branches as part of their sacrament meetings. Next weekend, however, Indonesians Saints will gather in their respective chapels to have a Conference weekend in which they can watch all five sessions. During the week before conference, talks are e-mailed to Jakarta where Sister Atin Limbong coordinates the translation efforts of volunteer translators who translate the talks into Indonesian. These talks are then e-mailed back to Salt Lake City where they are distributed to volunteer interpreters who prepare the talks for delivery (this includes shortening the more lengthy Indonesian text to fit with the pace of the English delivery, correcting any mistakes and then reading and re-reading the talk to ensure a good delivery). Anna Butler supervises the interpreters in Salt Lake. Members of the team include Indonesian members, RMs who severed in Indonesia over thirty years ago and five years ago, and recently returned RMs who served as Indonesian speaking missionaries in Hong Kong I’m still happily accepting journal excerpts, letters home, stores, etc for my history of the church in Indonesia. Don’t be shy or lazy--just do it. Thanks Chad Emmett |
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