From the Eyrie

a photo from the internet

On Monday we were still in Jakarta.  We had to go to the immigration office to renew our KITAS, our permission to stay in the country.  We were very fortunate to have received a full year on our initial KITAS, but it will expire near the end of March.  The mission office has an employee who takes care of such things, he went early and got our numbers in line, and a car took us right to the office.  There was a group of us going, but we left an hour after planned departure because the young missionaries from a suburb of Jakarta were late arriving.  And when we got there, it turned out that it wouldn't have made a difference--everything had stopped for a while, and there were almost 50 people ahead of us.  As the noon hour approached, and some lights in the office were turned off, we held our breath to see if they would stop work at noon, or let us all finish.  We did all complete the photo and fingerprinting process, so back to the mission home in time for lunch with Sister Mackay.  We did more shopping that afternoon, and the Mackays drove us to the airport (the in-town airport Halim).  We were home before midnight.

At our district meeting the next day, the young missionaries were worried about how to make good use of their time since there had been some restrictions on their activities following the mass shooting in nearby New Zealand.  Elder Porter suggested a test on the branch member's pictures, and although their restrictions were gradually lifted during the week, they still committed to the test on Friday.  Those who got 80% correct of 20 questions got a treat.  One got a perfect score, and 2 others got the 80%.

Our new building does not have a fitness center, but they do have a really nice fire escape, with steps outside but behind a safety grille.  So every day Sister Porter walks up to the roof, walks around the roof while she reads scriptures, and then goes down the steps and back up again.

The roof is an amazing place.  One day last week it was raining in the morning, but like Florida rain is rare in the morning, more common in late afternoon and evening.  It is interesting to see all kinds of insects and birds.  Sometimes a whole flock of birds crosses the roof.

Before leasing the apartment, we looked at the map to locate the nearest mosque.  It didn't seem any closer than the nearby mosque at our last building.  But we didn't appreciate that there are several other mosques in the neighborhood, and they set up a harmonic effect for every call to prayer.

They also seems to last a lot longer than some other places we have stayed.  The first of the day is at 4:45 a.m. and runs until well after 5.  Fortunately, we have a bedroom without windows.  But if we wake up during that time, the sound is beautiful and we need to record it before we go.  The harmonics of at least three mosques chanting amazing.

In addition to the stairs and doing handweights and stretches in the apartment, Sister Porter also swims twice a week.  Since our building is new and not completely rented, she usually has the pool to herself.  It is covered by another floor, and so it is very, very cold.

But having spent time on the roof with those stunning views, listening to the harmonics and doing a backstroke with a sweeping water-angel movement, it reminds me of the Archangel books by Sharon Shinn.  This got me re-reading some of them during breakfast and after class (I am not ambitious enough to read something new, but we are allowed to read fiction, so I am re-reading some favorites.)

We had heard that our mission president had called a counselor, and this weekend he came to visit!  He invited all the missionaries out to dinner at the JW Marriorr Cafe, an all-you-can-eat buffet including a barbecue and excellent dessert station with several flavors of ice cream and toppings.  When we first showed up, some elders were sitting right in the front near the live band.  Sister Porter decided to see if there was a quieter option, so she used her language to ask if there was a table in the back where the group could talk and listen to one another.  The staff were incredibly understanding and led us to a private glassed-in room!  It was perfect.  President Thomas Siregar is at far right, and he brought his wife and daughter (his son is serving a mission in Hong Kong).

We enjoyed having his daughter in Young Women today (in the center).  What a great group!  The young woman at far left gave a great lesson on the topic of happiness.

Another great bit of news!  The sequel to the movie THE OTHER SIDE OF HEAVEN will be out this summer.  Indonesians love that movie because it is about an island, and we think of it all the time.  We read the Book of Mormon faithfully hoping that we will also have the gift to be able to speak like that.  Here is the trailer for the sequel.