The Office

We are enjoying our work at the office.  We work M-F, usually reporting in the morning around 9AM and leaving around 4PM each day.  If we stick to this schedule, we can get to the office in 30-45 minutes and the same coming home.  If we vary, then it’s 1 hour+ each way.

The Mission Office is in a building that includes the Mission President's home, an apartment for a missionary couple, and two apartments and bedrooms, shared kitchen and bathrooms for up to eight missionaries on the first floor.  On the second follow, where the office is located, is also space for 15 other individuals that work for the church in the Indonesian Area Office.  The office handles material (books, scriptures, manuals, etc,) distribution, translation of church manuals, financial transactions, etc. for the entire church in Indonesia and the surrounding area.

With two of us in the office, Gail and I discussed who should be the Office Manager.  Considering my many years working in an office and her many years of watching THE OFFICE, she decided she would be the Office Manager and I would be the assistant to the office manager (not the Assistant Office Manager!)

I take care of the financial duties, referrals, recording baptisms, recommends, ordering items requested by the missionaries, ordering office supplies, and keeping the Office Manager out of  trouble!  Gail takes care of missionary travel, paperwork for new missionaries, mail, updating the Mission Office Information System, and follow-up on items for the Mission President.

 This is Gail standing by her work area.  To her left is the work area for the missionaries, the copier, mail boxes, etc.  We gave up attempting to keep the room neat!  It looks much like a 19 year old's bedroom--stuff everywhere!

Gail's work area.  She is located by the door, so it is hard for me to slip out and skip doing my work!

My work area.  Plenty of space for all the work the Office Manager gives me to do!  The Mission President's Office is to my right.

Solo

We had the opportunity to fly to Solo (central Java) last week and visit the clean water project the church has almost completed for several villages outside the main city.  I hiked for about 45 minutes and stopped, but Gale and the other men went further to a holding tank. The church has also built 22 public bathrooms.

It was all hillside, and all the land was being farmed by local people. By hand. No tractors or other mechanical equipment anywhere! Most of it was terraced.

This is a young mom carrying her 2 yr old and her sleeping 10 month old up the hill with lunch for her husband.

This is the goddess of intelligence at a temple about half way up the hill. It is visited twice daily by devoted followers.

Earning Money

Indonesia does not have food stamps, government provided housing, utility vouchers, etc. for the poor.  They are pretty much on their own and those who choose to be charitable.  They find many different ways to make money.  There are many food vendors with small carts, people walking between cars in the stopped traffic selling water and snacks, people standing at busy intersections stopping traffic so cars can pull onto the road, little children (Abby's age) walking from car to car in stopped traffic begging, etc.

Something I have never seen in the states is people with motorcycles lined up at bus stops offering rides to those that still have blocks to walk to home or work.

Because the traffic is so bad, there are sections of the city that at certain times of the morning and evening you will get a ticket if you don’t have at least 2 or 3 individuals in your vehicle.  So people stand on the side of the street with their hand out offering to ride through that section of town for the equivalent of around $2-3.  Many of these individuals (see the pictures below) are mothers holding a small child in their arms.