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Stories: Yoseba Sri Mastuti Swandha Agni

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Yoseba Sri Mastuti Swandha Agni 24 Jan 2009
Here is a biography of Sister Swandha of Solo, submitted by Chad Emmett:

Yoseba Sri Mastuti Swandha Agni
A Woman Pioneer of the Church in Solo, Indonesia
By Haryono Soemadi
Based on Biographies and narratives

The leaders of the Church have counseled us to endure to the end in faith and to be witnesses of Christ at all times, in all places and in all situations. When we strive to follow this counsel we can learn from a Latter-day Saint woman pioneer from Solo, Sister Yoseba Sri Mastuti Swandha Agni. At an old age (83 years) from her place of rest or wheel chair, with a strong memory and a high excitement for life, she tells of her experiences and testimony of this Church. Her background as a teacher in her younger days gives her strength to write her auto-biography. Every night she admits it is difficult to sleep. To kill time she wrote the history of her life, including spiritual experiences in the Church. All of this was written by her own hand.

Finding the True Church

About the year 1972 after her husband, Swandah Agni, passed away, Yoseba Sri Mastuti was forced to live as a widow with eight children who must be provided for. As a mother with a family this big, she needed strength to enthuse her soul. With a longing to find faith, Yoseba side by side with Teguh Budhi, her son, came to a church that wasn’t too far from their house, which is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Information about this new church was heard from a local radio station. Impressed by the attitude of the foreign missionary that greeted her at the first church service on that Sunday, she, after conferring with her son, decided to join. “My husband is the son of a preacher and for years invited me to come to his church, but I wasn’t willing to follow him. I needed an example of faith. In this new church I found strong examples of love and service. The young missionaries, which became the Sheppard’s of the congregation, were so sincere and full of attention for their sheep and us weak ones were strengthened by their visits to the house. We were impressed with the word Latter Days. My feelings told me that all of us lived in the last days, the time period prophesied of by the ancient prophets. I feel that it is not just any old name. I’m sure that the Lord has a special message for his people in these important days” she said of the first moments she knew this church.

A Pioneer for the Relief Society

When the branch in Solo started to be organized by foreign missionaries in the year 1972, the number of women members was five. As the oldest and as a teacher who knows the complications of organizing, Yoseba felt called to do pioneering work for the building-up of the Relief Society organization. “The new sister members of the church at that time were much unified. We were active in visiting those who were sick. If there was a mother who did not attend sacrament meeting that Sunday, we quickly visited them. Among the new people that joined there were many who had safety problems. The wives and mothers felt this problem the most. This lead to us, the sisters, working together and giving help, which, of course, was limited to our capabilities. Sometimes a set of second hand clothes or even thirty-four spoons were compiled as an offering. At times like this the families who received the help felt happy because of the attention from their church friends. This made the total number of woman at church grow and actually become bigger than the total number of men. Even I felt a strong brotherhood amongst members of the Church. At that time we didn’t have a church as nice as we have now. We just contracted a small, old building. Church meetings were simple, but with the members unified we felt the spiritual atmosphere grow, and this made the joy and happiness grow” she wrote.

Together with the other pioneer women, such as Sister Anon, Sister Endang Simanungkalit, and a few others that she can’t remember, they often met together to pray and fast for the progress of the church. The membership of the Church, and especially the women, steadily increased and in July of 1972 the Solo Branch was organized for the first time.

Serving as the Leader in the Relief Society

Being involved in searching for and strengthening new members in the woman’s circle is what brought her to becoming the first Relief Society President in the Solo Branch. Yoseba was called at the same time as Bro. Subowo was called as the first Branch President in Solo. The membership in the Church, especially amongst the women, continued to increase. The Church continued to train the branch leaders. Although the Relief Society was new, Yoseba admits being happy because the presidency could implement the birthday of the Relief Society for the first time.

“Still fresh in my memories is the theme of the birthday meeting at that time; it was about The Role of a Mother in the Family. At that time all the branch leaders spoke about the purpose of the organization of the Relief Society. This organization is built to strengthen families. We also touched on the importance of each mother and family consistently having Family Night. These principles of a strong family interested many investigators from the group of women we invited to attend” she said. Another important events at the time she was serving as leader of this woman organization is when the Church, for the first time, had an Open House. This event interested many people from other Christian denominations. Maybe it seems weird for them to see a church that had an event like that. Those who attended were many. Questions about the church, of course, were many. “I feel I received a great honor as a useful woman worker in serving the guests who attended. And until now I am still impressed when I am asked to explain Lehi and his family’s journey to the American continent through pictures. Lehi’s stories with his family in the wilderness always inspire me about the importance of families. This Open House has enriched our experiences in explaining the church to the public. Many of them who attended later met with the missionaries.” Before Yoseba was not active for health reasons, she was called three times as Relief Society President under a few different branch presidents in the Solo Branch.

Being a Mother for a Missionary

In the early history of the Church in Indonesia there were no local missionaries. A large part – if not all- were from America. Many of them did not know Indonesia. They lived in a foreign country with a very different culture. At that time the membership of the Church was still very small. Perhaps the church administration system to support their work was still being developed. But as witnesses of Christ they worked with extraordinary enthusiasm, bravery, and sacrifice. This touched the heart of Yoseba.

“The real steps of those missionaries became strong encouragement for me to work bravely and sacrifice for the work of the ministry. Two years separated from parents and family, in a far and foreign place, almost without facilities did not lessen their loyalty and conviction to the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I made them a living example for my extended family. Feeling the heaviness of their burden, I often asked these missionaries to stop by the house after a day of proselyting, entertaining them with the food and drink we could provide and joking with them about their joys and sorrows. I did this to every missionary that served in Solo. As a member of the true Church we, the members, need to support missionary work. My children were often their escort in finding the addresses of investigators. Luckily, my children, Budhi and Dasa, can communicate in their language. We felt like a big family. There was a missionary from America who was sick, but did not want to return to his country until his assignment was finished. I counseled him by saying that we have many ways and opportunities to devote our lives to the Church. In the end this missionary was willing to go home early. As a member of the family of Sala palace, when asked, I, with a happy heart, taught them the language or the customs of the Javanese palace. The missionaries who returned to their own countries would often ask me for information about daggers or cultural statues before buying them as a souvenir. I have been asked to make a welcoming text in Javanese by Elder Fischer at his farewell because his mission was finished. Still fresh in my thoughts is that Elder Fischer was able to read proper Javanese texts fluently and without mistake. Their highly esteemed attitude and respect for the culture constituted my honor for these foreign missionaries” she wrote in her book.

With a strong memory at the age of 83, Yoseba still clearly lists the names of the missionaries that converted her and also the names of the missionaries that at that time served in the small Solo Branch. One event that really appears to have left a deep impression on her is when one of the missionaries from America who was teaching her, Elder Earl B. Taylor, left Solo two days before she was baptized.

“Both of his hands were bleeding because of hitting the wall. Maybe he was disappointed because he must move to Bogor. When he said goodbye, he said that for him I was his second mother. He said that as long as he lives, he will never forget me.”

The family relationship between them continued even after this missionary returned to his native country. A few times Elder Taylor wrote letters and even sent her money. In his letters he always wrote that I am his second mother. In her biography, Yoseba wrote, “The last time he came to Indonesia was on the night of the 18th of October 1979, to fulfill his promise to come visit on my birthday. At that time he was a Public Prosecutor for the United States Navy in Manila, Philippines. Me and my children met him at the Kusuma Sahid Hotel in Solo and he was very happy. He asked me if I needed money to support my life. I politely rejected because I did not yet need it. When we parted he kissed my forehead. He hasn’t changed. I knew he stayed the same as when he was a missionary, loving and respectful of us. He stayed a humble messenger of Christ.”

Enduring Together in Sufferings

In the year 2000, when Yoseba turned 75, she suffered health complications in both her feet. A check-up at hospital didn’t find any indications of a dangerous disease. But her condition became increasingly worse. She experienced paralysis and both of her feet could not support the weight of her body. She must live in a wheel chair and needs someone to push her.

“I am very sad because I have lost my mobility. I cannot attend church. I can no longer serve the Lord and my fellowman, but I don’t feel sorry about this situation. The members of the Church pay very close attention to me. They take turns visiting me, singing their favorite hymns and reading scripture verses. The elders come every week to serve me the sacrament. Although I am paralyzed, every time there is a church activity I have never been left behind. I will never forget the love of two wonderful sister missionaries, Sister Sulaiman from Bandung and Sister Suyatno from Bogor who love me very much. These two sisters who are full of grace often came to my house and bathed me, cut my hair, swept, and pushed my wheel chair to church. The members of the branch Relief Society, returned missionaries who have served in Solo and mission couples from America serving in Solo regularly visit me. One of the most diligent is Elder Dean Robert and his wife, from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Their visits always make tears trickle because I was so touched. They always remember my birthday and give beautiful gifts” she wrote in her book.

Her sufferings and sadness cannot be expressed when in the middle of the year 2005 one of her closest and most loyal sons, Teguh Budhi, passed away after suffering from illness for a while. “I have lost the people I love. I often feel lonely, but I am grateful because the Church and restored Gospel help me understand the purpose of life. Heavenly Father never leaves us alone. We can endure together in sufferings and be strengthened by the Spirit, through prayers and support from friends within the Church. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ I have the hope of an eternal family. I will meet and be reunited with my beloved husband and children for eternity. I am thankful that I have finished my Family History. A missionary who recently returned to America, Sister Etter, promised to trace my family records in the temple. Whenever Heavenly Father calls me, I am ready. I am reminded if I am called, I will face Heavenly Father in a Church ceremony accompanied by my favorite hymn.”

David Brewer Send Email
 

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