Entertaining An Apostle's Wife (by Muriel)

This outing was during Elder Bednar’s visit to Indonesia. Sister Grover and I were assigned by Sister Groberg to help entertain the wives while he and Elder Pratt were calling the new Stake Presidency.

Our trip to the Tanah Abang mall and the Istiqlal Mosque was very enjoyable. We found out Sister Pratt is a quilter and that Sister Bednar, not so much. The Tanah Abang Mall is nothing like I've ever seen before int the United States. Rows and rows of little booths that are packed clear full, as close as they could be packed in of material, all different kinds including every batik imaginable. The closest thing that even begins to describe what it is like is the little boutiques that people that do handicrafts hold close

Tanah Abang Mall

to holidays, like mother’s day and Christmas! Now imagine all these little booths packed in as tightly as possible on ten or twelve stories of a building, so crowded you can’t even begin to breathe. That is about as close as I can describe what it’s like, this is very Indonesian and very mind boggling.

We did a lot of looking and a little buying, but we all managed to buy a scarf to wear to the Mosque. I failed to mentioned that Elder Grover, Elder Meredith and Elder Howarth (missionary couple from Singapore) also followed us around (in another car) as body guards. The body guard for Elder Bednar seemed to be satisfied that the three Elders could protect us. Yes, things have been a bit unstable here in Indonesia, lately.

The Istiglal Mosque is the largest and most famous Mosque in Indonesia. It is huge and a beautiful big building. The most interesting fact is that the architect that designed the Mosque was actually a Christian. Go figure! His design was more in line with what the Muslims had in mind for the design of the building.

We had a great time together and after we went back to Senopati to have lunch. Sister Bertha Surano and her good friend and her friends daughter were our guides. After lunch we went to the Church and met with some of the District presidencies who came to meet Sister Bednar and Sister Pratt.