Maxine Grimm may
have been the first Latter-day Saint to preach the gospel in the fledgling
country of Indonesia, but she was not the only one. There were several expatriate
Mormons who lived in Indonesia in the late 1950s and 1960s who also befriended
Indonesians, held church meetings, shared their beliefs and established useful
government contacts. Most of these early Mormons in Indonesia came as employees
of the U.S. government sent as advisors to a young country.
For five years,
beginning in 1956, Virginia Farrer Cutler lived in the Kebayoran suburb of
Jakarta where she worked as an educational advisor for the State Department’s
International Cooperation Administration. Widowed at a very young age she
raised two boys while getting a MA at Stanford and a PhD from Cornell. She then
became a professor and the Head of the Home Economics Department at the
University of Utah. Once her boys were raised she accepted a position with the
U.S. government to help establish and strengthen teacher training colleges
first in Thailand for two years and then in Indonesia. During her time in
Indonesia she helped to increase the number of teacher training colleges from 8
to 12 and she helped send 35 people to the US for special training. One of her
proudest accomplishments was soliciting the help of the McCalls dress pattern
company in New York City to make standardized dress patterns that were adapted
to fit the shape and cultural preferences of Indonesian woman. From these
efforts many woman in Indonesia were able to work as seamstresses and thus participate
at the local scale in helping the economy grow.[1]
With no other
Mormons in Jakarta, Virginia took advantage of any opportunity she might have
to fellowship with the saints including Maxine Grimm when she was in port. On one
occasion she met some missionaries in route home from Australia and invited
them to her apartment as well as fellow Mormon Garth Jones visiting Jakarta
from Jogjakarta and they held a small sacrament service.[2] Far
removed from regular Church meetings and temples, later in life Virginia set a goal
to attend the temple enough times to make up for each week she had lived in temple-less
Southeast Asia.[3]
Virginia was not
the only expatriate Mormon to live and work in Indonesia during the years
before the Church was formerly established. In 1957 Garth H. Jones, accompanied by his
wife Marie and their three sons, began a five year sojourn in Jogjakarta Indonesia
as an U.S. foreign service officer assigned to the International Cooperation
Administration (later called USAID) with the task of helping in the development
of local governments in the newly independent country. Prior to his assignment
in Indonesia, Jones has been a young instructor at BYU. There he became good
friends with Professor George Hansen of the geology department. Once in Jogjakarta,
Garth learned (via his wife) of a USAID project sponsored by UCLA to help
establish a geology department at prestigious Gadjah Mada University. He
thought George Hansen would be a perfect fit. Professor Hansen, who was near the
end of a long and distinguished career at BYU, was indeed interested and so in
1959, George and Afton joined the Jonses as neighbors in Jogjakarta.[4]
George and Afton
Hansen in Jogjakarta
In addition to
helping set up the new geology department, Hansen also consulted on various
activities including mineral and water exploration. Three months after arriving
George supervised the drilling of a water well in an agricultural area 40 miles
southwest of Jogja where during the dry season there was not enough water for
drinking. He wrote: “It is the most thrilling experience I think I have had
with these people since I came to Java and I am hoping that the government will
invite me to join them in a search for water in other places. …I repeat it is
difficult to believe that in an area that has needed water so badly and has
been cultivated so long we actually were in on the drilling of the first water
well in the entire region.”[5]
Interestingly, over forty years later LDS Charities would help with the
installation of water projects in other parts of Central Java.
While the Jones
family did on occasion hold a sacrament meeting in their home, they and the
Hansens never did so together. When asked why the families did not worship
together, Garth Jones explained that while they were all practicing Mormons,
they saw themselves as visitors in a Muslim land and out of respect opted to
limited outward worship and in part because it was never clear if they needed
permission or had the proper authority from the Church to conduct such
services.[6]
In George Hansen’s
journals he does note that on at least two different occasions he attended
English services of the Western Indonesian Protestant Church. On one Sunday he conducted
the services and on February 12, 1961 he gave the sermon. In his message about
God and science he gave examples of scientific progress throughout history
noting how scientific knowledge had changed over time. As he concluded his talk
he threw in some distinct Mormon theology and quotes:
“We live in a time
of a greater plenty in most things and a time of abundance in many. To me it
all represents the handy work of God expressing itself in every modern facet of
life. His miracle workers are at work as they were never priviledged (sic) to
work yesterday.
“The most faith
promoting experiences ought to come in the great experimental sciences where
new laws and new techniques can be blended into life saving and life benefiting
programs.
“Here we may in
part see the unfolding of insights into the purposes and handy works of the
master architect. It calls for the exercising of the greatest amounts of
faith. We are just beginning to see and
understand some of nature’s secrets. We are beginning to see and feel what must
be the infinat (sic) greatness in the world about us.
“Someone has said
‘as man is God once was, and as God is man may become.’ Great men in great
performance may be our best modern idea of the power of God in operation among
men.
“I know there are
those who fear this modern world of science and discovery will move God out of
the picture—sober minded, seasoned men of science I am sure do not think so. It
brings God in as he could not come in yesterday. God must represent light and
intelligence—if so the windows of heaven are just beginning to be flung open,
and the mind of men are being prepared for new and more light.
“I believe that
the glory of god is intelligence and we are saved only as fast and to the
extent that we gain more knowledge and deeper understanding.
“As the universe
grows great, we must dream for it a greater God. Amen”[7]
Hansen’s
Mormon-laced sermon from a Protestant pulpit won no converts, but his sermons
through daily living helped prepare the first Indonesian for conversion to the
Church. His name was Sutrisno. One day Sutrisno visited the Jones family hoping
that they would allow him to stay with them while he furthered his education.
He had heard that they had welcomed another Javanese student into their home so
that he could get an education and Sutrisno hoped he could do the same. The
Joneses were impressed with Sutrisno’s command of the English
language—something not very common in the early years of Indonesia—and
recommended that perhaps he could stay with and help the newly arrived Hansens.
The Hansens were happy to help Sutrisno further his education and so he moved
in and for the next four years he earned his board and room by helping around
the household.[8] Some of
his duties included translating for the other household helpers, learning to
drive so he could be their chauffer, and helping as a typist. He remembers at
one point being asked to type a letter to President David O. McKay in which the
Hansens asked about the possibility of sending missionaries to Indonesia.
Sutrisno remembers that while the Hansens did not talk a lot about their church
or offer to teach him about it, they did teach him much through their
actions—including their keeping the Sabbath day holy and their abstinence from
alcohol and tobacco.[9]
Sutrisno
In 1959 Raymond
and Dorothy Wendel moved to Surabaya where he worked as an agricultural advisor
with the U.S. State Department. With no LDS congregation in Surabaya, the
Wendel family attended an English speaking Baptist church. In 1961 Wendel was
transferred to the U.S. embassy in Jakarta. Dorothy taught first grade at the
Joint Embassy School. The family remained in Jakarta until increasing political
upheavals necessitated leaving in March1965. They then moved to Korea for a few
years, back to Jakarta (1969-1970) for a year, to Taiwan for four years and
then a final stay in Indonesia for two years (1974-76) by which time he was
working for the World Bank. After the Wendel family left Indonesia for the
final time, their housemaid Mort (short for Morsini) joined the church and
eventually served as a Relief Society President.[10]
The same year the
Wendels moved to Jakarta, Jordan and Pat Tanner also arrived in the city. This
was Jordan’s second US Foreign Service posting.
He was first assigned to the Cultural Affairs section and then was
appointed as the first director of a newly opened American Center—which had a
library, auditorium for cultural programs and meeting rooms.
The Wendels and
the Tanners both lived in Jakarta and worked for the State Department from 1961
until 1965 and yet there is no recollection on the part of the Tanners that
they ever met the Wendels. Even if they
did meet they never made the connection that they were both LDS. Tanner
suggests that this may have happened because Wendel work as an agricultural advisor
and was thus was not stationed in the embassy.[11]
Interestingly, during part of this time, BYU graduate Virginia Fackrell worked
in the US embassy as an assistant to the US Agricultural Attaché.[12]
Her position would more likely have resulted in meeting Wendell and yet these
two never made the Mormon connection either. Fackrell and the Tanners did make
the connection and so most every Sunday during their combined time in Jakarta
the Tanners would travel to Fackrell’s apartment where Jordan Tanner would
bless and pass the sacrament and then one of the three would lead a gospel
discussion. As an embassy employee Tanner was limited in the type of formal
missionary work he could do. His main approach was to let people know he was
Mormon and then answer their questions when asked, whether it be at the
numerous cocktail parties and diners required of diplomats or in his
associations with Indonesian students at the American Center.
Tanner’s posting
at the American Center put him in a unique position to witness firsthand the
tumultuous times in Indonesia leading up to the October 1965 coup. Of that time
Tanner writes:
“This
was a period of growing anti-American expression organized by Partai Komunis Indonesia [PKI, The
Indonesia Communist Party]. I took it
upon myself to organize several university student discussion groups. We would
meet weekly to discuss foreign relations issues between the U.S. and Indonesia.
Ambassador Howard Jones was very pleased that the Embassy was reaching out to
some of the top student leaders…The activities of the American Center were
attracting many university students, so much so that in December 1964 a group
of around 300 PKI university students attacked the Center, set fires inside the
building and destroyed or damaged much of the furniture and equipment. Windows were broken as rocks poured into the
building. My office was on the second
floor and I still have a couple of the rocks that hit my desk and a small piece
of the American flag that was torn to pieces. I thought there was some
possibility that the students would kill me, but when they broke the door down
to my office, they said in Indonesian that they were not going to harm me, but
were sending a message to the American government. I met with Embassy officials
and it was decided to put the Center back together and not let anti-Americanism
close us down. After we reopened there were several students who came to
volunteer to put the books back on shelves and organize furniture.
“In
February 1965 an even larger group of communist students surrounded the Center,
but did no damage. I was held hostage for most of the day as Embassy officials
negotiated with the Indonesian government officials on my release. In the
latter part of the day a group of Red Berets from the Merdeka Palace, home of
President Sukarno, came armed in the back of a large truck and the Deputy Chief
of Mission for the U.S. Embassy arrived in an official vehicle, a clearing
between the students was made by the Red Berets and I ran to the Embassy
vehicle with students shouting ganyang
Amerika [crush America]. Other U.S. buildings in Jogjakarta and Surabaya
were attacked and it was decided to transfer all Embassy American diplomats
associated with the U.S. centers to other posts. Pat and I were transferred
back to Seoul.”[13]
One
other LDS family connected with the Tanners during their final year in Jakarta.
George Kanahele, his wife Jean Ohai and their two young children moved to
Jakarta in 1964 for his dissertation research on the Japanese Occupation of
Indonesia for a PhD in government from Cornell University. With his Cornell
connections, the Kanahele’s were able to meet many Indonesian notables
including PKI members and two of the generals soon to be executed in the coup.
Jean remembers attending just one sacrament meeting during her year in Jakarta and
that was when the Tanners invited them to come for a baby blessing of a boy
they had just adopted from Korea. At some point during his stay in Jakarta,
Tanner had been informed by the Hansens
about Sutrisno and his interest in the church. The Hansens had hoped
that the Tanners would be able to meet with him, but with the unexpected
departure, Tanner was unable to do so. He then asked the Kanaheles if they
would be able to go and meet Sutrisno, but the pressure to get all of his
research done kept them from making the trip to Jogjakarta. Following the
evacuation of the Tanners, the Kanaheles moved into the Tanner home for a few
months to hold it for the US government. They departed to do more research in
the Netherlands just before the September 30th coup.[14]
The
departure/evacuation of these families left Indonesia without a Mormon presence.
In more peaceful times and with better luck at identifying and gathering
together members of the Church, they might have been the beginning nucleus to
help establish an official presence of the Church in Indonesia. Instead, that
formal presence needed to wait a few years until Indonesia had recovered from
its “year of living dangerously” [15]
Throughout this
political storm and from the security of their home back in Provo, George and
Afton Hansen regularly corresponded with Sutrisno and kept him supplied with copies
of church magazines. Meanwhile, Sutrisno sought work, first in Bali (where he
met his wife) and then later in Jakarta (1967) where his Hansen-enhanced good
command of English helped him to gain work at the Ford Foundation. While at the
Ford Foundation Sutrisno learned of a new consultant from Utah named Perry
Polson. Knowing that the Hansens were from Utah, he set out to see if Polson
perhaps knew the Hansens. He was surprised to find out that the Hansens did
indeed know Polson (a BYU business education professor and one of the first
post-coup Mormons to venture into Indonesia) and that they had requested that
Polson look up Sutrisno. That meeting turned into a close friendship,
strengthened in part through Sutrisno’s assignment to teach Indonesian to Polson
and his wife Gwen in their home.
One Sunday in the
fall of 1968, the Polsons invited Sutrisno and his wife to their home for what
turned out to be a 10:00 am sacrament meeting. The Sutrisnos joined in and were
impressed when five year old Bradley Butler stood up to bear his testimony in
which he expressed love for his parents, belief in Jesus Christ and happiness
for being a child of God. Sutrisno thought how happy he would be to hear his
own child do such a thing.[16]
With that
beginning, the Sutrisnos began to meet weekly with the small group of Jakarta
Latter-day Saints. In addition to the Polsons, the group included several other
expatriate families living in Jakarta. Dennis and Vernene Butler had arrived in
Jakarta in January 1968 with their two young sons (including testimony bearing
Brad)—a baby daughter joined the family in 1971 and was given the Indonesian
name of Sarinah. He was from Canada, she was from California and they had met at
BYU. He worked for Canadian External Affairs. While stationed in Hamburg,
Germany he was asked if he would be willing to accept a new assignment in
Indonesia. His first response was, “I don’t even know where it is.” His second
response was that he needed to check with his wife. He also checked with Church
headquarters to see if there were Mormon congregations in Indonesia. He was
told no. A few days later when the ambassador asked for an answer, Butler said
he would accept the assignment—he would be the second secretary in the Canadian
embassy in Jakarta (next in seniority to the ambassador). Later while on home leave in Canada for Christmas
he called church headquarters again to inform leaders that he was moving to
Jakarta in a month. This time he was told that he should arrange to stop in
Hong Kong on his way to Jakarta and meet with Brent Hardy. Butler dutifully
complied. In Hong Kong President Hardy set him apart as the Group Leader for
the Church in Indonesia and told him to look for a man at the Ford Foundation named
Sutrisno who might be willing to help.
For the Butlers it
is no small coincidence that Dennis was in the right place at the right time to
be set apart as the first priesthood leader in Indonesia. They feel as if the
“hand of the Lord was involved” with getting them there. His first job
following graduation was as a school teacher in California. While there, the
Canadian government approached him to see if he would be willing to take the
civil service exam and consider working for the Canadian foreign ministry. He patriarchal blessing said that he would
“enter many lands and do work for the church” and so he decided to give it a
try. Dennis knew French which made him even more desirable in bi-lingual
Canada, so when he was unable to take the civil service exam on the scheduled
date, they changed the date just for him. Of the 2,000 that took the exam, 200
passed and of those only 20 were selected for the foreign service.[17]
A few months later
another LDS family joined the growing group.
Ludy and Toontje VanderHoeven were converts to the Church from the
Netherlands. They had emigrated to the United Sates where he worked as an
auditor for the US Agency for International Development. They came with their
six children (a seventh was born while living in Jakarta) from an assignment in
Turkey. While living in Turkey, Ludy was set apart as a Seventy in the
Melchizedek Priesthood. The primary duty of a Seventy was missionary work. When
Elder Howard W. Hunter visited Jakarta, Ludy wondered about how he could
fulfill his primary priesthood duty in a non-missionary land. Elder Hunter told
him that he could still serve as a Seventy/missionary in Jakarta, and so he
did.[18]
Two other families
rounded out the group; Raymond and Dorothy Wendell—back in Jakarta after a few
years hiatus; and Don and Karen Cornelius—he worked in the business sector of
the US Embassy.[19]
The Jakarta group
at first rotated homes for Sunday services, but eventually they settled on the
Butler home because they brought an organ with them and because as an embassy
house it was quite large and even equipped with great big benches. Sutrisno
became a regular at these meetings and expressed interest in learning more, so Brothers
Butler and VanderHoeven began to visit him in his home for regular lessons. On
June 1, 1969, after more than a decade of close interactions with Latter-day
Saints, Sutrisno was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints by Ludy VanderHoeven. The ordinance was performed in the
swimming pool of a Canadian embassy villa outside of Bogor. At the same service
eight year old Stephen VanderHoeven was also baptized by his father and
Sutrisno’s two month old son son Aris was given a name and a blessing. Sutrisno’s
wife would be baptized by her husband on March 29, 1970 after having been
taught by Elders Willard and Storer.
In the summer of
1969, two other Indonesians also joined the church. Ibrahim and his wife Julia
had traveled from Jakarta to Tokyo and then to Amsterdam where they sought
specialist treatment for her failing eye-sight due to diabetes. While in
Amsterdam the Ibrahims were visited by two LDS missionaries who taught them the
gospel for two months and then baptized them. Following her baptism, Julia
noted that even though they had found no treatment for her eyes, she “had more
energy and was healthier than ever before.” She also found that she could once
again shop and cook for herself, “write letters without having sentences
blurred” and she could “see people and carry out conversations with them.”[20]
The Ibrahims returned to Jakarta and somehow met up with the other members of
the church. Within less than a year, both Sutrisno and Ibrahim were called to
serve as counselors in the branch presidency with Ludy VanderHoeven.
In the late 1960s
phones were not very common in Indonesia and not always dependable. More often
than not the primary form of communication between LDS members was just
dropping by someone’s house rather than having to deal with the sporadic phone
service. During the rainy season of January 1969, the Butlers remember one very
rainy evening hearing the phone ring and deciding not to answer it because no
one ever seemed to call them and on rainy nights sometimes the phone would just
jingle without anyone being on the line. They ignored a second call too.
Finally on the third call, Vernene decided to answer. A voice spoke: “Sister Butler? This is Howard
W. Hunter of the Council of the Twelve.” To which Vernene replied: “Oh Ludy
[VanderHoeven] you’re kidding, no?” Ludy had a thick Dutch accent so his being
able to impersonate Elder Hunter would have been quite an act. Dennis then
called out, “who is it?” Vernene replied: “Well he says it’s Howard W. Hunter,
but I know it’s Ludy.” The voice then
said, “Can I speak to Brother Butler?” Brother Butler decided to take the call.
It was indeed Elder Hunter; he and his wife were on their way home from a visit
to Australia and made an unannounced stopover in Jakarta. Dennis asked: ‘Where
are you?” Elder Hunter replied: “Here in Jakarta and I’d like to meet with you
and the other members if possible.” Since Elder Hunter was scheduled to fly out
the next day to Singapore, Dennis said he would come to meet him at the Hotel
Indonesia but given the heavy rain and the predictable flooding along the road
to the hotel he explained that he may not be able to get through. “If I don’t
come, it’s because the car [engine] got wet!” The Butlers were able to get
through (limited time, heavy rains and lousy phones prevented the Butlers from contacting
the other LDS families) without the car stalling and had a nice visit with
Elder and Sister Hunter who had been asked to check out the situation in
Indonesia.[21]
That same day, the
Lanikai had been docked in Tanjung Priok where the Grimms were hosting Brother
and Sister Wendel and others for lunch. At some point in the afternoon a cable
came through with the horrible news that the Grimm home in Tooele had caught
fire, destroying all of Maxine’s journals and home movies of her time in Southeast
Asia. Maxine wanted to know more details, but phoning from Jakarta to Utah was
not possible. They decided to sail for Singapore that night so they could get
more information. Soon after setting sail they hit a wave rocking squall. Intrepid
Maxine, who wanted to film the amazing storm, remembers that she could” barely
hold on and tape the movie” as waves crashed over the deck. Amazed by the
strength of the storm, she said to her husband that they had to turn around and
head for the safety of the harbor. Once docked, they collapsed into bed. As
they slept, there was a knock on the door of their stateroom. Maxine called out
“come in!” and when the door opened she saw Elder Hunter standing in the
doorway. The Butlers, thinking that the Grimms were still in town, had driven
the Hunters to the harbor for a late night visit. Elder Hunter was very
apologetic for having barged in, but Maxine saw it as a heaven sent source of
comfort in her time of despair. The Grimms then invited the Hunters to stay for
a few days to see the sights in Indonesia, which they did.[22]
Perhaps in his report to the other Brethren, Elder Hunter may have mentioned
how rains did not stall the Butlers from hosting a General Authority, but they
did turn back the Grimms so that they could host him.
(left to right: Sister and Elder Hunter on board the
Lanikai with the Grim family: Pete Jr., Maxine, Pete Sr. and Linda)
Things were
falling into place: calm had been restored under Suharto’s regime, President
Hardy and Elder Hunter had visited Indonesia and filed exploratory reports,
Maxine Grimm continued to recommend opening Indonesia to her prophet and
apostle friends, Jan Walandouw was ready and willing to help with bureaucratic
maneuvers, several strong LDS families with governmental connections had almost
simultaneously arrived in Jakarta to live, and Sutrisno and the Ibrahims had
been baptized.
At some point
during 1969 another Mormon-merchant-missionary also travelled to Indonesia
hoping to spread the gospel. His name was Frits Willem Tessers.[23]
He was born in 1929 in Makassar Sulawesi to parents with a mixed
Dutch/Indonesian/Chinese/African ancestry. His mother’s great grandfather
Willem Zwoll had come to the Dutch East Indies from the Dutch colony in
Southern Africa to help in the war against Aceh. His father Karl was a
cartographer for the Dutch government and his grandfather Jacob was a colonial
official in the Dutch East Indies. During the Japanese occupation Jacob was
beheaded by the Japanese as an example of what would happen to anyone who did
not cooperate. Following WWII, Frits remained in the Indies where while still a
teenager he was trained to be a bomber pilot. At some point during the next few
years he helped to teach others in the Indies how to fly. He also married and
had three children and worked running a large floral business. Following
Indonesian independence, Frits fled the country (with only a diamond under his
tongue). For unknown reasons, his wife and children remained in Indonesia.
Frits relocated to the Netherlands where he re-married and started a second
family. He served with the Dutch military in Korea which then opened the door
for the Tessers family to emigrate to the United States in 1960.
The family settled
in Huntington Beach, California under the sponsorship of the Episcopal Church.
Early on in their stay Frits was presented a Book of Mormon by an LDS
acquaintance. As a Catholic who was attending the Episcopal Church (out of duty
for having been helped to relocate), Frits had no desire to add another religion
to the mix. Several years later, the family became acquainted with another
Mormon—Ted Johnson a fifth grade teacher who taught two of the sons during
back-to-back years. Ted’s priesthood office at the time was that of Seventy and
so as a ward missionary he was always looking for opportunities to introduce
his religion to others. This included setting out LDS magazines on tables
during parent-teacher conferences for people to read while waiting. It also
included approaching Frits Tessers during the second year of teaching a Tessers
son when, after a parent teacher conference, he asked if Mr. Tesssers would be
interested in learning more about the Mormon Church. The family agreed, liked
what they heard and decided to be baptized. The mother Elisabeth Muller Tessers
and the three oldest (of eight) children were baptized in 1967, with Frits, who
took a while to quit a smoking habit, following suite in 1968.
Shortly after
joining the Church, Frits started an import/export business that focused on Indonesia.
He looked forward to his first trip back to Indonesia in over 20 years as a
great missionary opportunity to share his new found faith with people he would
meet in his native land. In preparation for that 1969 trip, Frits filled up a
large leather suitcase with copies of the Book of Mormon and stacks of various
pamphlets about the LDS Church with the intent to share them throughout his
several month stay. When he arrived in Jakarta, a customs agent, upon
inspection of his bags, was concerned that the large collection of English
language materials might be subversive or illegal and so Frits was taken into
detention. Soon a senior military officer wearing dark glasses came in and
asked: “Mr. Tessers?” Fits replied: “yes.”
The officer responded: “Mr. Frits Tessers?” Frits replied “yes.” With
that confirmation, the officer removed his glasses and with a big smile
exclaimed: “I’m the first pilot you taught to fly!” He then gave Frits a big hug. After renewing
acquaintances, he asked Frits about all of the printed materials. Frits
explained: “These are all materials that will help people to understand the LDS
religion.” The reply satisfied the officer who then offered military transport
to Frits during his business travels.
The only report of
what Frits did with his many copies of the Book of Mormon was that with the
approval of his military friend he was able to place them in hotels along the
way. During his travels he met one
Indonesian member of the Church, most likely Sutrisno, and he learned enough
about the fledgling church in Indonesia that he returned with a strong desire
to help the kingdom grow in his homeland. He therefore sent a letter to Church
leaders with a recommendation that a separate mission be established in
Indonesia and that missionaries be sent to serve there. A reply letter informed
Brother Tessers that it was not yet the time for such a bold move. Brother
Tessers, who was described by his son as being “passionate in his
proclamations,” and who was very excited to see the Church grow in Indonesia
was hurt by the reply, resulting in several years of limited activity in the
church.
Frits died of
cancer in 1992. On the day of his funeral a grandson was born. That grandson
was named Frits Willem Tessers II (son of Jim and Lisa Tessers). In February 2012,
after two months of language training in the Missionary Training Center in
Provo Utah that grandson started his missionary service in the Indonesia
Jakarta mission. The family sees this calling as a fulfillment of Frits Tessers
Sr.’s desire to spread the faith in a land he loved.
The person at Church headquarters who tersely responded
to Tessers letter may not have been in the Indonesia loop for it seems as if
plans were already or soon would be in the process of exploring whether or not
to open up missionary work in Indonesia.
[1] Virgina Cutler Autobiography. MSS Sc 2573 L. Tom Perry
Special Collections BYU
[2] Garth
Jones interview. July 7, 2011
[3] Merrill
J. Batemen, Becoming a disciple of
Christ. 1997 BYU Women’s Conference
[4] Jones,
Garth N. Spreading the Gospel in Indonesia: A Jonah and a Contagion.
Unpublished manuscript 1981.
[5] In George Henry Hansen Collection (1896-1981)
November 1959 Journal MSS 1628 29/8
[6] Garth
Jones interview. July 7, 2011
[7] In
George Henry Hansen Collection (1896-1981) MSS 1628 . L. Tom Perry Special
Collections, BYU
[8] Hansen,
Afton H. Under Banyan Tress in Indonesia. 1973.
[9]
Sutrisno. Tanpa Saya, Gereja Dapat Terus Berkembang; Tanpa Gereja, Saya Tidak
Dapapt Berbahagia. Terang OSZA April 1990. p. 35.
[10] E-mail
letter from Douglas George Wendel, December 13, 2008.
[11] Jordan
Tanner, personal correspondence, November 7-8 2011.
[12]
Obituary Virgina Fackrell, Deseret News, October 13, 2004. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1287937/Obituary-Virginia-Fackrell.html?pg=all
[13] Jordan
Tanner, personal correspondence, November 7-8 2011.
[14] Jean
Ohai, personal correspondence, June 11, 2013.
[15] In his
August 17, 1964 Independence Day speech President Sukarno used the term “living
dangerously” (borrowed from a twentieth century Italian nationalist poet) to
encapsulate his rising disdain for American influence in the region and his
desire to inspire greater nationalism within Indonesia. See Theodore Friend’s Indonesian Destinies (Cambridge, Massachusetts:
The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2003) p. 91.
[16]
Sutrisno. Tanpa Saya, Gereja Dapat Terus Berkembang; Tanpa Gereja, Saya Tidak
Dapapt Berbahagia. Terang OSZA April 1990. p. 36.
[17] Dennis
and Vernene Bltler interview, March 10, 2011
[18] Ludy
and Toontje VanderHoeven interview, January 27, 2011
[19] Dennis
and Vernene Butler interview, March 10, 2011
[20] Letter
from Julia R. Ibrahim. Echo Asia. May 1970, p. 4
[21] Dennis
and Vernene Butler interview, March 10, 2011
[22] Maxine
Grimm interview, October 26, 2007
[23] January
11, 1012 interview with Frtis Rene Tessers (son of Frits Willem Tessers).
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