Yogjakarta: Misi Couple Council

On Sunday, April 1 in the afternoon we caught a flight for Yogjakarta (Yogja), a city in the middle of the island of Java that is rich in the local culture.  All nine missionary couples in Indonesia were getting together for a council, a rich opportunity for us to learn from the experience of others, and an event that only happens once or twice a year. 

chapel in Yogja

We were in awe of these brothers and sisters.  Each of them found a unique way to serve, using their particular talents.  Some teach English, some teach piano, some teach family history and all of them visit people and minister to various needs. And they are also very interesting people. 

The first morning, we met at the church building in Yogja, and had a program in which each of us was assigned a topic.  Elder Porter and I spoke about what we learned from the MTC.  For snacks, a local restauranteur brought in fried bananas, rice balls wrapped in banana leaves, lumpia (egg rolls) and fresh fruit. 

I hadn’t slept the night before, so in the afternoon when they went out to Prambanan temple, we caught a car back to the hotel for a rest.  There are taxies here, and several ride services similar to Uber.  I had already seen that temple twice, but I wanted to rest because that evening we were going to the Ramayana ballet which I had not seen, preceded by a traditional Javanese meal. 

The dinner was wonderful and the show was very good, with amazing choreography of both dance and fights, and impressive special effects.  It also only lasted about 75 minutes rather than the 3-4 hours of some traditional performances.  Afterward, the lead actors invited us to come up and take a picture with them.  The Ramayana is actually a Hindu legend, also well known in India but integral to the culture here.  The theater was open air, so a breeze went though occasionally and some birds flew across the stage.  Obviously not air conditioned but they gave us a bottle of cold water as we entered.  

The next morning we left early for the famous Buddhist temple of Borobudur. We had great views of Mount Merapi, a volcano that had erupted shortly after our visit in 2010 and is still emitting smoke.  Many schoolchildren came up to us to take a picture or practice their English with us. 

Then we went to visit the hydroponic gardens and restaurant operated by the same person who brought snacks the previous day.  She is an amazing entrepreneur.  They also grow fish, and have a chicken farm at another site. 

After the garden tour, they were setting up a lunch buffet and then announced that one of the sisters was celebrating a birthday.  I thought, “Oh, someone has the same birthday…”  and then they brought the cake to me!  They sang an Indonesian birthday song (we need to learn it!) and I had to blow out the candles  They also made a beautiful heart-shaped jello mold filled with flowers made of fruit.

Apparently Elder Porter had colluded with the mission office staff and the mission president to create this yummy surprise.  And yes, it is a black forest cherry torte.

After lunch we visited a Muslim boarding school where our church has been building some new dormitories for the students.  They played music and invited us to come up and participate, and some of the missionaries were very good at following the beat and having fun.  One of our sisters who plays piano even tried the gamelan.

The next day we were back in Jakarta by noon, and had the afternoon to prepare for our move to our mission area.