This was a week of last visits, last photos, last classes, lasts of all kinds. Elder Porter was released as second counselor in the branch presidency on Sunday, September 8. The mission president had to fly in from Jakarta to make that change; we are not part of a district or stake here. The new counselor is a guy who is planning on taking his family to the temple in February. On Thursday, we finished teaching the temple prep lessons to them.
Some of the young single adults asked for an English class on Saturday afternoons. They are wonderful.
Our last class was on Saturday, September 7.
We had hired lady in the branch to make 30 baskets for us, and then we filled them to bring to families in the branch. They included some foodstuffs (red rice, tuna, chocolate cookies) and a laminated photo of the branch, a magazine about the temple, a laminated copy of the Articles of Faith and a signed and dated picture of us. Single people got a bag with the photos, chocolate cookies.
But that was a lot of baskets to deliver. We were making up to five heart-wrenching last visits to people every day during that week.
Getting medication was a challenge especially after the first year. We used mail-order pharmacies and a trip to Singapore to fill in gaps. It was a relief to count them a last time and be assured there were enough.
A few weeks ago, one of the Young Women asked where Sister Porter where she had purchased these shoes (which are very comfortable Propet shoes from the USA). I invited her to try them on and told her she could have them when I left. So I polished them one last time, and gave them to her on Saturday.
Sister Porter hates ironing. She is morally opposed to ironing as a waste of women's time. However, we don't have dryers here. So it has been a necessity. Keeping Elder Porter's shirts crisp and white has been a major effort and part of the sacrifice of serving a mission.
So it was a major milestone to iron the last shirt!
In the midst of all the intense visits, we happened across a bucket with what looked like a gator tail sticking out. The people willingly pulled a large monitor lizard out to show us, as it was about time to butcher it and wrap it in banana leaves to cook.
They swear it is not a Komodo dragon but rather from the island of Nias.
Our party was last night. We hired one of the best cooks in the branch to cook, and we brought fruit, including the grapes that they love.
We also served brownies (from Amanda) and ice cream. There is no refrigerator at the church, so this involves sending out a companionship of elders to the store to pick up the ice cream right before serving.
Elder Porter gave our driver Saturday afternoon off, after our errands and visits were done. This allowed him to pick up some people in his angkot. An angkot is one of the small mini-busses that ply the streets. He offered us a ride home, and pulled up off the road, right to our lobby. The security guard stood up to see the bus drive up, and then was very surprised to see bules hop out. People sitting out at the coffee shop actually applauded.
On Sunday we gave our final talks and said final farewells. These are the young future missionaries that we helped get their paperwork submitted.
Below is a video from our party. Sister Porter asked the Young Women to sing. This is only about half the group (some of them were working). We love this song in any language.
We finally made it to Danau Toba, which is one of the prime tourist destinations on our island of Sumatra. We actually drove to the lake once with the elders on a P-day, but it was a brutal 10-hour drive round trip. This time we decided to fly to the small airport in Silangit, take a 2-hour car drive (with multiple stops), then a ferry out to the island.
View of Toba lake from the airplane with the island of
Samosir to the left.
Lake Toba is the product of a massive supervolcanic eruption that occurred perhaps 75,000 years ago. The Toba super volcano is estimated to have ejected almost 3,000 cubic kilometres of rock and ash during its eruptions. Toba is the largest-known explosive eruption on Earth in the last 25 million years, and likely had massive effects on the climate. The lake is about 62 mile long, 19 mi wide, and up to 1,657 ft deep, making it the largest lake in Indonesia and the largest volcanic lake in the world.
At 243 sq mi, Samosir is the largest island within an island, and the fifth largest lake island in the world. It is very mountainous, was formed by a giant lava dome rising out of the lake after the big eruptions.
Peak season is from June to mid-August. While there are daily flights to/from Jakarta and Singapore, during the off-season, flights from Medan are only 1-2 times a week. We had made plans back in May but had to cancel due to a commitment, so we were delighted to find another week with flights that would work. It was stressful preparing a lesson for the young elders to teach but a joy to finally make it to this amazing place.
The resort where we stayed had great off-season rates. We had a budget room looking over the street, but there was a balcony where we could sit out and look over the pool and lake. It is one of the few resorts that is right on the street, and we took a few walks around the town of Tuk-tuk, which is a small peninsula jutting out from the island.
None of the resorts there have air conditioning, because at this elevation it is much cooler than in Medan.
The hotel had a good breakfast, and arranged a wonderful tour for us.
Danau Toba is the center of Batak culture. We toured a few museums and huta (villages). The stone seats are where the village elders meet. The smaller chair is where a criminal sits to be judged. This installation is right next to a large sacred tree; you can see the roots to the left of the picture.
We got to see a traditional Batak dance troupe at another museum. It was very interesting. Those are traditional Batak houses in the background, with the characteristic saddle-sloped roof.
We have been visiting a woman in Medan who was expecting a baby. When she learned we were visiting Samosir, she urged us to visit her older sister. We were dubious as to how we could possibly find her, but she insisted that she ran a warung (local restaurant) right near this museum and that anyone would know her.
Well, we gave the information to our driver, and while we were in the museum, he talked to folks. And sure enough, someone did know her, and offered to take us to meet her.
It was amazing because her face looks so much like her sister and they kind of move the same way. She was disappointed that we couldn't stay to eat, but we had some water and went back to the car.
(BTW her sister in Medan delivered the baby on Friday, and this woman sent an older daughter to Medan to come help. We visited her on Saturday and got to meet the niece, and it was fun to know the extended family already.)
We visited a village where women were weaving the ulos that we wear on occasion. We bought quality ulos at a traditional market in Medan with the help of a friend. This woman can only make one per week. It is a very complicated process.
She is in her late 60s and has some gray hair. Her daughter behind her is preparing yarn and the man to the left is our driver.
After this, he took us to a traditional restaurant for lunch.
Looking down from the mountains on Samosir to Lake Toba
and the small Tuk-Tuk peninsula where we stayed.
We also saw many wonderful views of the lake from all different directions as we drove around the island, including visiting a lake within an island within a lake within an island.
We passed many waterfalls, but this is one that had a good parking place nearby. This is a sacred waterfall for one of the Batak clans and there are shrines at the bottom.
One of the museums had some of the older money that Elder Porter used 40 years ago.
Finally, below is a video that aired on the Sunday before we left. We got multiple inquiries about our English class and had 21 people on Friday.
On Sunday, a sweet sister in the branch gave us an extra large ulos for couples. She is wearing a traditional ulos. Ours is beautiful and incredibly well made, with lots of beadwork.
We spent the week reaching out to members to be sure they came to church today for a photo shoot of the entire branch. It was great to see folks there, dressed very nicely. But as always there were a few people missing.
On Saturday, we taught some temple preparation lessons to a family who is hoping to go to the temple in Manila, Philippines in the next year. We brought martabak telur with us, a wonderful egg wrap filled with vegetables and chicken. It is cooked in oil and is a bit calorie dense, but it was the night before fast Sunday, when we fast for two meals and donate the money we would have spent to fund to help those in need. Sister Porter has been fighting another urinary tract infection, the fourth since arriving in Indonesia. She missed some functionality over that challenge.
Elder Porter did not get much of a P-day. He spent Monday helping a family to get their paperwork in order to get a passport for their son as part of the mission application process.
We had our District Leader over to discuss the location of members on an electronic map, and offered them lunch as well. We made chili, using some taco seasoning we found at a store that carries some import items. It was topped with a yummy salad of avocado and tomatoes from our local market.
Yes, we work under a 20-year-old. He is an Annapolis student who resigned to serve a two-year break to serve a mission. He hopes to be reinstated when he returns, and in recent years the military academies find foreign-language skills to be a plus, but it is not guaranteed.
On Wednesday, the branch Young Men did a service project, cleaning up the gravesite of Medan's first branch president then trimming in front of the church building. In the midst of all that, it was time for English class, and we had a bunch of visitors (photo).
Sister Porter made a mistake as to which lesson should be taught, and ended up teaching a lesson about Community Service. Elder Porter bought a huge container of ice cream and served the English students as well as the Young Men. It was crazy but fun.
This is a close-up of an Indonesian paper clip. It is a different shape than in the U.S.
We like to say that things at church are the same all over the world, but there are small differences. In Indonesia, when the sacrament hymn starts, the first thing that people blessing the sacrament do is rip open a wet wipe and thoroughly clean their hands before starting to break the bed. It is reassuring for those in the congregation to see that step is being taken.
Below is a quick video of our fire escape. I go up and down at least 11 flights every day, as well as reading scripture on the roof. There is no exercise room so the step-climbing and swimming twice weekly is about what we can do. Although Elder Porter missed swimming on Friday morning this week, in order to listen to the BYU-Utah football game.😊
