Em & Tola's Travel Blog

First, I want to say that Tola has been a wonderful traveling partner and he is showing tremendous patience as we have listened to countless hours of storytelling from many people .. and I will say we have heard a few stories more than once! Everyone has also grown to love Tola and they are very impressed with his background and his language abilities. I am so happy that we are able to share all of this memorable times together.


Today was a day of visiting, storytelling (mostly listening), and many many cups of tea and coffee. We visited three different houses that my Dad and his family lived in while they lived in Batu. The first house we visited was "Sunny Home" and we spent a couple of hours with the lovely and chatty Mrs. Octavianus. She reminded me a bit of my Grandma Germann because of her amazing memory and her love for telling stories. Mrs. Octavianus remembered exact dates of things my grandparents had done and she had many pictures to share. It was special visiting such an admirable lady and we will probably go back to Sunny Home this week, so we can also meet her husband Petrus Octavianus.

Tola and I have heard this story more than once, but every time I hear it, I smile inside. There is a church in Batu that my Grandpa rebuilt in the 1950s, and it is the oldest Christian church in Batu. It is a small gem in the city of Batu, and it stands with its blue steeple and chicken decoration on top. It is a special little church, and Tola and I visited with the pastor who was thrilled upon our arrival ... this really isn't the story, but a little introdcution. :)

The story (as told by many people, but I am sure it has been changed along the way) ... The Church "Bell..." When my Dad and his parents and siblings lived in Kediri, my Grandpa gave a church in Kediri a bell for their congregation. He could have done this during a visit to Indonesia years later, but what is important is the bell. He gave them a bell that sounds like a Swiss cow bell (and it may have been .. I am guessing it probably is from Switzerland). Years after he gave the bell to the church, the church burned down, so during one of my Grandpa's visits he picked up the bell and brought it to the church in Batu (that my Grandpa helped build). Now the bell rests in Batu. Over the years this bell has caused a few problems because the church in Kediri has wanted it back, but it can not have it back because it is now cemented into the church in Batu ... Next time, perhaps I can bring a bell for the church in Kediri. :)

It has been special hearing the church bell every morning .. a bell that my Grandpa brought to Indonesia many years ago. Everyone that we meet likes to tell this story and it seems to be a story that everyone has heard.

The rest of the day was spent visiting two other houses, families, and a few places in Batu. We ended the day eating dinner at a small restaurant overlooking the city of Batu with some new friends from Indonesia. We have met many lovely people that have been very generous with their time, and we have had our own personal tour guides everywhere we have gone. We are truly having a special Indonesian experience.