CHAPTER 4 LERIES IN PORSEA AND SIANTAR

Leries Nurhayati Sitorus was born and raised in Lumban Sitorus, Porsea, North Tapanuli on March 10, 1941, to Ria Sitorus (titled Tuan Rengkut) and Hanna Boru Manurung. Before she was born, Tuan Rengkut and Hanna had a daughter named Tio but she died when she was still a baby, so it could be said that Leries was the first child, of seven children, two boys and five girls.

Leries entered elementary school, namely the Sekolah Rakyat Negeri (SRN) Pangombusan, Porsea, North Tapanuli, in 1949, when he was 9 years old. This delay was because his father, Tuan Rengkut, was afraid that people would bully his son, because his body was small for a child his age.

Tuan Rengkut, Leries' father, was a descendant of rich people in the village, so he had a lot of rice fields, gold and so on as a inheritance from generation to generation. Therefore, even though he was a farmer, he just paid people to work on his fields. He also owned a café for coffee and tuak (a traditional Batak liquor made from rice) shop.

However, when Leries was still in elementary school, his father's economic condition began to decline, due to his father's love of gambling. Inherited assets began to disappear one by one due to gambling. This is why Leries really hates gambling, and tends to avoid rich people because in his mind he has the impression that all rich people are gamblers like his father.

Hanna, Leries' mother, started working like selling rice, by buying it from the village at a cheaper price, then milling it and selling it in Porsea. Leries also started actively helping his father farm. Leries also sells cakes and sweets at Simpang Empat, Porsea. Before going to school, Leries makes lampet (a traditional Batak cake) and looks after the shop, so it's not uncommon for her to be late for school. However, because Leries' performance at school was good, none of his teachers were angry with him. Leries once also sold firewood, so he was teased "why do rich people sell firewood" by the people around him, but Leries didn't care. He was also diligent in helping because he wanted his mother to be entertained because his father was often rude to his mother. Therefore, his mother really loved Leries.

There was a child from the same village who was attending an Adventist school in Pematangsiantar, namely Kosti Sitorus. Leries was very interested in hearing the stories that Kosti brought home. Moreover, the friends from the Adventist school that Kosti brought to the village looked different from other people, so she wanted to continue studying at that school after graduating from elementary school. When Leries was in grade 6 at elementary school, the Adventists held a prayer week in his village and Leries diligently attended it. Her desire to continue his studies at an Adventist school in Pematangsiantar became increasingly passionate. At first her father did not allow Leries to continue to that school, and he wanted Leries to continue to SDB, which is a school to become a teacher. Hearing that, Leries didn't want to eat for a week. His mother persuaded her and told her to calm down and that she would be sent to the Adventist school. Finally her parents contacted Kosti's parents, and her father finally went to Pematangsiantar to see the school. His father was impressed when he saw the school in person, because the director was an American. Finally, his father agreed to send Leries to that school. After Leries graduated from elementary school in 1955, he continued his studies at the North Sumatra Training School (NSTS), which is now the Sekolah Lanjutan Advent (SLA), Martoba, Pematangsiantar, which at that time was part of Kab. Simalungun, North Sumatra.

At NSTS, Leries' education went smoothly, even though she still had to work hard every time she returned to her village during the school holidays. His father did not want her to sell books, as students at NSTS usually do, so she worked hard on farming, including hoeing rice fields and other work in the village. However, Leries was an outstanding student, so that when many students were left behind, Leries continued to move up in class, so that in 1958 she succeeded in continuing to high school at the same school.

In 1959, when she was about to go to second grade, the Director of the Bandung Adventist Hospital, West Java, came to select students who would continue to nursing school at the Adventist Hospital (RSA), Bandung, West Java, because additional nurses were needed in line with hospital expansion. This selection was not through an exam, but based on student achievements since junior high school, so Leries was chosen because of her good achievements. At first Leries had no intention at all of continuing to the Bandung Adventist Hospital, but apparently her father heard the news from someone else and encouraged her to continue to Bandung, because in those days it was still rare for students to continue to Java, especially since all the costs were borne by the Adventists. Finally, Leries decided to accept the offer to study at RSA Bandung.