I have been really bad about writing in this blog. I can use the excuse that when we get home from the MTC we are so tired that I just can not find time to write, but of course Marie Seimers took that excuse away from me 40 years ago.

It is true that we were very tired each day, but we found time to sit down and watch some TV and study Indonesian. That is enough repenting…now on with the show.

Tuesday was the real start of training. It started at 8:00 with a lesson on ‘The Message of the Restoration’ lesson. We learned how to give a 3-5 minute lesson – what we might do with someone we met on the bus, etc. I think we did quite well with this one. Next we spent two periods putting together a 45 minute lesson with each companion taking alternate parts. The highlight of this for me was working with our afternoon teacher. He wanted to check out how we were doing and so I taught him. I was able to feel the spirit as we taught and even came up with Jacob 2 to answer one of his questions.

I did not think the teaching with ‘investigator’ went as well. This was mainly because the volunteer talked too much. I know this could actually happen when we are in the field but the purpose of the practice was to allow us to teach. We were familiar with this problem of a volunteer taking up too much time. When we were running the program we used to tell them that they should speak about 20% of the time and allow the missionaries to use the rest. But even with that problem I think we did fairly well and by the end I was again feeling the spirit as we bore testimony.

The next step was getting our last two shots. One for polio and the last shot in the hepatits series. The nurse was really good and the needles are small so it was over in a minute -after waiting 25 for our turn.

 After dinner we went to the devotional. The senior missionaries get to sit near the front. Bishop Edgley of the Presiding Bishopric and his wife were the speakers. Sister Edgley showed a picture of an apple and a real apple. She said one was the image and the other was the real thing. She mentioned that just going to church was the image of a righteous LDS, but it was only when we were truly involved with our complete heart and mind that we are truly LDS. She said the same thing about missionaries – just wearing a tag and going on a mission does not mean that a person is truly a missionary. It is only when we are giving 100% that we can truly say we are missionaries.

Bishop Edgly told a number of stories one funny was the thought that we should call young missionaries when they are 16. At that age they know everything and their mothers will not cry when they drop them off at the MTC. He said that Boyd Packer figured out he was Nobody – until was given a calling. I am a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He siad in missionary work, faith is the power, obedience is the price, love is the reason and Christ is the message. It was a great experience and I look forward to next weeks devotional.