Elder Holland Dedicates the Land of Timor-Leste

We are grateful that LDS Charities will be able to partner with the wonderful people of Timor-Leste in bringing self-reliance, hope and healing through humanitarian work.  We are so excited for Elder and Sister Johnson and the humanitarian outreach they will be able to do. It is an exciting time!

Our trip to Timor-Leste was an incredible blessing.  We were blessed to be there for the dedication of the land of Timor-Leste by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  Read about his visit which was printed in the Church News  HERE.

We had the blessing of going ahead of time and setting up all the arrangements for Elder Holland's visit - airport pickup, hotel, transportation, visits, meals, etc.  Elder and Sister Johnson, the in-country couple, worked with us in all the details and arrangements.  It was sometimes hard to sleep at night.  An apostle was coming and we would be his escort for two days! 

Tino Mac, a Timorese member of the Church now living in Australia who helped us so much in our June Exploratory Trip, emailed us to let us know he was coming back to Dili for a 2 week trip.  Tino knew nothing of the events coming to Timor-Leste, and knew nothing of the dates surrounding them, nor anything about an apostolic visit.  But his mother wanted to return to Dili to see cousins, so Tino arranged to come to Dili – arriving, unbeknownst to him, on the exact same day as Elder Holland.  But by the hand of the Lord, once again Tino was in the right place at the right time.  By divine decree, Tino Mac would be at the dedication of his native land. 

The dedication took place on August 21, 2015.

When Elder Holland arrived at the airport, we were there to greet him. Accompanying him were Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Seventy and President of the Asia Area and his wife Sister Susan L. Gong, Elder Randy D. Funk, of the Seventy and 1st Counselor in the Area Presidency and his wife Sister Andrea C. Funk. What a thrill it was to greet Elder Holland.  He reached out and patted Dad’s face upon greeting him, a warm handshake and hug for me – a warm, compassionate and kind servant of the Lord.

Greeting Elder Holland at the airport - with Sister Johnson and Sister Coffey

Early in the morning of August 21^st, 2015, the group assembled and was driven by van to Cristo Rei. 

We walked up 290 of the 597 steps, coming to the first landing. 

Elder Holland pauses on the way up to enjoy the view.

The first landing area on the way up to Cristo Rei, where the dedication took place.
 This photo was taken before the dedication service.

At this spot, you can see both sides of the overlook, with Dili and its beaches on one side and Backside Beach on the other.  The morning was comfortable. The sun was very bright creating sharp shadows.  The place was deserted and quiet except for a few groundskeepers and several fishermen on their way to Backside Beach. 

The air was quiet and against the backdrop of Cristo Rei, the dedication service began.

Tino Mac and his mother Lili Mac, with Elder and Sister Coffey

These are just facts, just words on a piece of paper.  It is simply not possible to infuse the reader with the spirit of this sacred occasion.   

Elder Holland mentioned that now was the dry season of Timor-Leste, but when the rains come, they will bring new life and beauty to the land.  In the same way, the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be like refreshing rain, bringing new life and spiritual beauty to the people.  August is the dry season in Timor-Leste. It hadn’t rained in a long time. It was a very applicable analogy.

Sister Gong, Elder Gong, Lili Mac, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Tino Mac, Elder Funk, Sister Funk,
Elder Johnson, Sister Johnson, Elder Coffey, Sister Coffey

Group photo at the hotel 

We had the opportunity to interview Elder Holland at the hotel after the dedication.

Following the dedication, we escorted the group to the airport. We provided lunch boxes for their return trip.  Sister Johnson made oatmeal-raisin cookies which were included in the lunch.  Here is a photo of them showing their appreciation for the cookies. They voted the lunch as the "best box lunch ever!"  

As Elder Holland turned to leave, he gave warm embraces to us all.  But with Dad he stopped.  In a picture that will be etched in my mind forever, he cupped Dad’s face with both hands, leaned in close and held him, affectionately thanking him for all he had done for this event.  The tenderness, fatherly affection of love and grace – it was as if time stood still.  Suddenly I realized what a great photo that would be and frantically looked for the camera.  It was around Dad’s neck!  In an instant the moment was gone, and the picture opportunity was lost, but the image of him clasping Dads face in his hands will be forever ingrained in my memory. 

And then they were gone.  It’s been a lingering of sweetness in our hearts ever since.  A sacred tenderness, a rich deep gratitude to have been included in such a sacred, historic experience. It will be one that will never be forgotten.

That night it rained heavily - the first time in a very long time.

Elder Coffey expressed it this way: "I learned that an analogy spoken of rain can be a reality of physical rain in a time of normally no rain.  And I believe Heavenly Father sent the rain on the evening of 21 August 2015 to let us all know that He heard the words of His servant  and will honor them with blessings from heaven upon the people of Timor-Leste.

"I learned that even when you want a challenge and have the vision to magnify a potential assignment, that assignment may not be given to you – and you can be sure that the Lord wants it that way.  It is fun to watch the Lord’s work unfold, to be part of it is fascinating.  What a privilege to be a missionary in Asia!"

LDS Charities First Week in Timor-Leste

Getting LDS Charities established in a new country is a wonderful and exciting opportunity!  Elder and Sister Johnson, the new LDS Charities volunteer couple, have been working to set up their apartment and establish the LDS Charities office in their apartment.  We have become a little more familiar with Dili, the capitol of Timor-Leste, and have been meeting with possible NGO (non-government organizations) partners. There are so many wonderful people here doing amazing work.

We met with Palmira Pires, Executive Director of East Timor Development Agency and discussed possible opportunities with her organization.

Catholic Relief Service (CRS) Country Manager Torrey Peace (center) met with us and shared their vision, goals and objectives in the humanitarian work they do in Timor-Leste.

Torrey Peace, center, Country Manager of Catholic Relief Services

We’ve been in touch with Sister Aurora, a Catholic nun, who is setting up an appointment with us to learn about the history of the Catholic Church in Timor-Leste and how they have been a sustaining power of hope in the lives of so many people over the years.

We met Brother Chong Jong, an LDS member living here in Dili, and his son Robert.  We met in their comfortable home and had a tour of their expansive chive garden in the backyard. The garden is the fruit of Mrs. Jong’s hard work as she supplies chives to many distributors throughout Dili. We also met his other son Robin, who happens to own the furniture store where the Johnsons are buying their office furniture.  The Jong’s are very nice and we look forward to getting to know them better.

Robert (red shirt) and his father Brother Chong Jong (pictured center)

 We spent a morning visiting the famous Cristo Rei statue.  The air was cool when we started, but the sun soon was beating down without mercy and we were grateful for whatever shade we could find.  It was quiet and peaceful, and the spot has a wonderful overlook of the city of Dili.

Today we visited the Disabled Association of Timor-Leste (ADTL).  It was very hard to find – we are at the mercy of the taxi driver’s knowledge of where things are.  ADTL is not a prime tourist spot, and Timor-Leste does not operate with addresses or even street names.  You just have to know where things are!

Disabled Association of Timor-Leste

Finding the NGO Forum was even harder.  It took quite a bit of work for our taxi driver to try to find it, asking multiple people, driving around in circles, and finally we just got out of the taxi and started walking.  We knew we were close, and someone from the Ministry of Health knew for sure where it was and steered us in the right direction.

Coming up – a meeting with USAID and hopefully the Rotary Club.  It’s been a busy week!  Now time for a P-Day – a walk to the beach and maybe even a swim in the pool!  A well-deserved break!
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The walk to the beach was so interesting - we passed through a local neighborhood through a dusty narrow alley on the way there and enjoyed seeing the traditional homes... the people were so friendly and we were greeted with many a "Bom Dia" -  "good day" in Portuguese.

The neighborhood vegetable stand

The local mall - we passed several of these stores on our walk.

Doesn't everyone use a Gremlin for a footbridge?  Getting in an afternoon siesta in the shade...

Elder and Sister Johnson on the beach

 Senior missions are great!  A lot of hard work, but also many phenomenal experiences that can't be duplicated any other way. What a joy to serve the Lord wherever He calls. We are so happy that LDS Charities is getting established in Timor-Leste.  We love Timor-Leste!

LDS Charities Begins in Timor-Leste

August 8th, 2015 was a historic day.  Elder Douglas and Sister Lucinda Johnson, LDS Charities volunteers, officially arrived in Timor-Leste to begin humanitarian work. Elder Coffey and I are privileged to travel with them during this set up period.  We will be here in Timor-Leste for several weeks and then return to Hong Kong.  The Johnson's will stay here.  They have been serving in the Hong Kong Area Office with us as Area Welfare Specialists, and have been re-assigned to Timor-Leste.  We are so excited for them!

Elder and Sister Johnson arrive in Dili, Timor-Leste

Arriving at the Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste

First, we worked on settling into our apartments at JL Villa. The inside of the one-bedroom apartments are simple and adequate, but need some tender loving care. But the grounds look like a lush tropical paradise!

Included in the rent is a daily cleaning service.  The housekeepers will do dishes, sweep and mop, clean the bathroom and kitchen areas, and take the laundry away to wash. But the dryer lives on our balcony!

We found one of the best grocery stores in town - complete with a simple metal roof with tin awnings.  But it has most everything you need for basic survival.  Even Oreo cookies.  

We've been meeting with NGO partners and working to get LDS Charities set up. Meanwhile, we have enjoyed meeting the people of Timor-Leste.

The monetary unit in Timor-Leste is the US dollar. This man was selling the orange beaded necklaces for $20 apiece!  We politely declined.  Of course, when the other hawkers saw we had stopped to look, they started running up to us to get us to buy their wares.  Fortunately, we made it through the group without buying anything.

Children go to school for half a day, either the morning or the afternoon.  So at any given point of time, there are hordes of young people just sitting around, doing nothing, waiting for time to pass or for some excitement to happen. With the young adults, the unemployment rate is extremely high.

Children collecting minnows along the freshwater run off near the beach in Dili.

Enjoying sandcastle building

There is always time for soccer on the beach!

Waiting for time to pass....

Sometimes they get very creative!

This 4 month old baby came to visit the housekeepers at our apartment.
She brought her mom along too but slept through it all!

Selling cock cages for cock fights - popular in Timor-Leste

Geckos are our friends, geckos are our friends -
just keep repeating.... geckos are our friends.

We stopped for a delicious lunch at a Portuguese cafe/restaurant called Kakau, and shared our meal with this gecko who was eyeing our food.  Actually, he was trying to get back outside through the glass window. I think geckos are cute, but I am finding out I am in the minority.... ha!

"Build My People, Build My Nation"

Our LDS Charities exploratory trip to Timor-Leste was largely to meet with government and NGO (non-government organizations) agencies to learn more about the work they are doing that might coincide well with LDS Charities.  We wanted to know what kind of needs there are and how LDS Charities can help.

Our first meetings were with the Australian and United States Embassies.  They were very welcoming to LDSC and shared recommendations and possible contacts for us. 

We next met with the East Timor Development Agency, which we blogged about in our previous post.  They have a most powerful logo. 

The logo shows a picture of a clay pot with a crocodile on it (no – that is not a gecko, I was told!!)  The crocodile is important to Timor-Leste tradition. It was a crocodile that made the island, the story goes, and there are salt-water crocodiles that line the coast (this is for reals).  So this pot on the logo – it was broken in many pieces, representing the warring factions and various tribes of the country, but is now held together by nationalism and an independent country. The matrix of dots and lines in the circle surrounding it represents the many organizations, initiatives and agencies coming together to form a network of support to help develop and grow the country. The three colors behind the logo represent the colors of the flag of the resistance movement that led the country to freedom. Below the logo are the Tetum words:

“Build my people.  Build my nation.”

And that’s just what they are doing. And what LDS Charities wants to do too. 

We visited the Centro Nacional de Reabilitação,  (CNR) – the National Rehabilitation Center. They work with the Ministry of Health to prepare wheelchairs for the disabled, and were happy to hear of our wheelchair initiatives. 

This little wheelchair-bound girl outside the office caught my eye and I couldn't help but stop and try to bring a smile to her face.

We visited the tais market. Tais (pronounced “ties”) is a traditional woven cloth made solely by women in Timor-Leste, with dyes authentically made from local bark, flowers, and other natural substances to produce the vibrant colors.  Each tribe has its own unique Tais pattern and colors, not unlike Scottish kilts. 

Tais showing the Timorese flag in the background

A single tais can take from several days up to a year to create, depending on the complexity of design and colors used.

One of our grandsons wanted to donate some toys to the children of Timor-Leste when he found out we were going there. Time to stop and give a couple of toy cars to some boys at the market. At first they were shy, but it ended up being quite a scene once everyone got the hang of it!  

Timor-Leste is a Christian nation, 96% Catholic. In 1996, the Indonesian government commissioned the 27 meter statue of Cristo Rei (Christ, the King),

Elder Coffey climbs up to the Cristo Rei statue

made up of 27 copper sections, (Timor-Leste was the 27th province of Indonesia) as a gift to the people. At the time, Timor-Leste was still considered a province of Indonesia, and the gift was a recognition of the 20th year of its integration into Indonesia from previous Portuguese occupation. This gift, even amidst the years of struggle, invasion and annihilation. 

There are 597 steps to reach the top. In case you want to try it.  The view is worth it - just try doing it in as cool of a time of year as possible.  (July is the coolest month - highs are only around 88 degrees or so.)

Elder and Sister Coffey with Tino Mac.  Cristo Rei is in the background.
We still have well over 100 steps to go to the top.

View from Cristo Rei, with Dili, the capital, in the far background

And the sunsets are gorgeous.  People come from all over just to watch the sunset. It's amazing how quickly we fell in love with Timor-Leste. What a blessing for LDS Charities to be able to be a part of the wonders of the Land of Discovery.