Week of June 2 -11 Jogja,  Elder and Sister Lisk and many friends. "
"Sometimes you never cherish the value of a moment until it becomes a memory."

 Elder and Sister Lisk from Eugene , Oregon. The missionary office couple who will be returning home June 30th. We have spent many cab rides together going to and from our apartment to the service center. They have helped to mentor us and we have enjoyed these past 10 months with them. We will miss these wonderful special people who have left their mark in our lives.

                          Sister Lucherini with a cocoa seed in her left hand and a cocoa bean in her right hand at the Monggo chocolate factory. This is one of the places of the best cocoa supply in the world. All chocolate lovers rejoice, here is the seed of happiness!

 Elder Lisk and Elder Lucherini in front of the Sultan's palace in Yogyakarta (Jogja)

 We had heard about and finally got to see for ourselves some of the beautiful beaches around the Jogja area. They have some pretty significant rip tides so there isn't much swimming, but spectacular views.

I could only stay out for so long an then it was too inviting, I just kept getting wetter and wetter, this Indian Ocean is the best...almost bathtub temp!! LOVE IT!

Our patient driver and tour guide, Dwi. A member in this area! Happy to show it off!

Look at the waves coming in...fun place to find shells too, hey this is a good p-day!

sweet lady patiently waiting for someone to rent one of her mats to lay on...

why do I always have my purse with me? trust me, it carries essentials for us foreigners! Like tp!

Below, our catch for the day, shells...no fish!

                                                    Pantai  Kukup. In English: Kukup Beach

                                         They couldnt get enough of all the beautiful shells

 Baron Beach. The fishing boats go out late in the afternoon to fish about 10-12 kilometers, for flying fish. They will stay for 1 1/2 days returning early in the morning. Rest up then go again.

Seriously, missions are a lot of work, but there are some sweet payoffs of all sorts!

                                                       Some very interesting trees

a small village, look at the color of the water below, green and blues and white foam

                                          Views from the cliffs above the beach

 

 To the left are crabs. The people pop them out of their shell, paint it, then put them back inside and sell them. They even had little crab houses for sell, the crabs think their special with their fancy shells

couldn't stand it, finally got into my suit, after my pants were already wet!

                                                                 Indrayanti Beach

 We normally try and stay in pretty conservative hotels....but this week end we splurged and stayed at the Phoenix Hotel in Jogja. It was as beautiful as the pictures portray.

                               We can't go to Jogja without catching some pictures of Mt Merapi

                                  Our driver Dwi. A wonderful member of the church in Jogja

 These two pictures are actually taken from professional photos of when Merapi last erupted in 2010. It has averaged a major eruption about every 4 years and wrecks havoc on the many hundreds of people who call the mountain their home.

A visit to the wood craft village. They sell the wood carvings and paintings in the front and make them in the back. There just never is enough room in that suitcase for everything Sister Lucherini?

The ladies sit here all day, tediously painting each piece by hand, every day...

The wood carver, same thing, such work, mostly by hand.. and it's not cool outside

finishing up the rough edges, can you see the pattern on the trays, batik patterns

                   Agus and his family from Stake Conference. See comments below.

 Sujud, his wife Nanik, and their children: Joseph (16), Mervel (14), and Tiffani (11). I always say Sujud is famous because he and his family are on the missionary 'pass along cards' we share with people. Someday we will take home with us an autographed copy. Sujud operates materials management in the service center and as such helps us buy and pay for all of the many project expenses. He has to put up with Elder Lucherini coming to see him everyday, sometimes several times a day (whether we are in the office, or by phone and email) to coordinate payments and follow up with vendors or organizations. Everything must be done in proper order. These are sacred funds and we want to allows ensure they are properly used and taken care of. It is an important work. We often think of the sacredness of the widows mite. We are grateful for Sujud.
                        I hope he is still smiling by the time we complete our mission?

 Agus our driver and trusted translator with his wife Anis, and their two daughters Crystal (4) and Kesya (7).  We never see Agus without his smile. He is always happy and a delight to be with. We spend many hours in traffic with him in Jakarta. He is a big help with Elder Lucherini in helping with pronouncing his Indonesian words properly. We greatly enjoy being with him and have many, many wonderful times going from project to project. He is always by our sides to help us understand and communicate.

 

 Three employees from the service center that we love and enjoy. Titik and her husband, Bishop Agus and his wife. Hendra and his wife Bertha.

                                   Atin from the service center (translation) and Sister Donald.
 Bertha, her husband Hendra, and their two sons, Benedito (15) and Christopher (14). And Nina from the Jakarta 2nd ward. This ia a wonderful family that has been very helpful in helping in major disasters. Particularly when Mt Merapi last exploded in 2010. We first met them with Elder and Sister Meredith, who were former humanitarian missionaries who served here, at Chuck-a- rama in Provo about 3 months before we left on our mission.

                                   Irwan from the Jakarta stake High Council with his wife and son. We have associated with him as we have worked with the Bandung Branch and the Young Single Adults.

 Subandriyo and his wife Stephanie. His mentoring and guidance in what we should do and how we should do it has made all the difference. We love them and their family dearly.

 President and Sister Donald. Our wonderful mission president and his wife. From Melbourne, Australia. We have had had many wonderful memories and cherished experiences with them and are so grateful for their devotion, dedication, leadership and example. They are the bedrocks of the Indonesian Jakarta Mission.

 Ezra Subandryio and his wife Taman. He served his mission in Northern Utah and actually fished on the Cub river. Who would have ever thought someone thousands of miles away in a foreign land would know of beautiful Cub river? It was wonderful to attend their wedding ceremony and to meet with many whom we now know and love. These wonderful choice people of Indonesia.

Ari and his wife and son. He is the driver for President and Sister Donald. And of course we rely on him quite often for help with phone calls, translations and better understanding.