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SMW – Visit to Panti Sosial Tresna Werdha Nazareth Santo Yusuf

Good morning everyone, in this blog I want to share my experience joining the Saint Mary Ways event, or what we usually call SMW. On October 11th, 2025, my classmates and I got an assignment to visit Panti Sosial Tresna Werdha Nazareth Santo Yusup. When I first heard about this task, honestly I was a bit shocked and kinda nervous because I’m not the type of person who’s good at socializing. I also often get confused about what to say when meeting new people. But since this was a group assignment, I had to try my best to socialize with my friends. We left from our own homes and arrived at the place around a little past 10. As soon as we got there, the place felt calm and peaceful. The grandmas who were already sitting in the hall greeted us, and that made me feel a lot more relaxed.

The first activity we did was introducing ourselves. I was pretty nervous, but the grandmas listened to us so kindly. They really looked like they wanted to know who we were. After the introduction, we continued with singing together. We sang some songs that were quite familiar, like Hidup Ini Adalah Kesempatan and Selamat Pagi Bapa. At that moment, the atmosphere became lively and really warm. Some of the grandmas sang along even though very softly, but it made the moment feel even more alive. Some of them clapped, some smiled while following the lyrics, and there was even one grandma

who came forward to sing a Mandarin song. It felt really nice seeing them that happy.

After that, we played a memory card game. This part felt even more relaxed and friendly. Many of the grandmas started sharing stories about their lives. One grandma said she was from Croatia, another said she was from the Netherlands, and they had been living in Indonesia for a very long time. I honestly didn’t expect foreigners to have stories that felt so close to Indonesia. There was even one grandma who said she witnessed Indonesia’s independence moment with her own eyes. When she said that, I went completely silent because it felt like hearing history directly from the person who lived through it. I felt really lucky to hear that kind of story straight from her, not just from a history book.

After the game, we got the chance to talk more closely with the grandmas. For me, this was the most touching part of the whole visit, even though I joined it a bit late because I had to help in the kitchen. But I still managed to talk to them, even if only for a short

time. They gave us a lot of simple but meaningful life advice. One grandma told me,

“Time is money, don’t waste it all at once for something you don’t need.”

When I heard that, I felt embarrassed and just went silent because I waste so much time doing useless things like scrolling on my phone, playing games, or just lying around doing nothing.

Another grandma said,

“Beautiful plans don’t come on their own, you have to look for them. That’s what it means by God’s beautiful plan.”

The sentence was long, but what I got from it was that life won’t just hand us everything. We have to look for it, try, and live it while believing in God’s plan. I kept thinking about that even when I went home.

During our time at the home, I could really see that the grandmas enjoyed our presence. They smiled with us, shared stories, and the whole atmosphere felt warm. I felt happy because we could make them smile even just for a short time. It felt like meeting my own grandmother even though it was only for a moment. Seeing them happy, even though their lives aren’t always easy, really made me realize that I want to change and start using my time better.