15 February 2007 – Thursday
After waking during the night and having a good bout of coughing I went back to sleep until after 6. I woke feeling quite good and thinking that perhaps the work yesterday did sweat the cold out of me. I certainly hope so as there is really no time for being sick.
I read the Kane’s latest news to their family and realize that we are having a very different mission from them. I imagine we are having one that is quite different from any other couple except perhaps the Petersens. Where the other couples seem to be right in the middle of Indonesian life, Mary and I are on the edges. Elder Kane speaks about how the travel around in ankots – small buses – going for long walks, and they are now thinking about buying and driving a car. We travel in our own vehicle or in good taxis. They live among the people and we live in a high-rise apartment. They go and do what needs to be done and we must tailor our week around going into the office on some kind of regular basis. I am not complaining but I do think I am slightly jealous of their greater freedom and wider experiences.
We received our first couple’s newsletter and it only re-enforced my thought that a native couple should be called to our position as country directors of ERS and we should be put out with the branches and missionaries. Not only would we then be able to spend more time with members but the Indonesian people would be better served. I am going to send this suggestion to president Jensen.
We had a long and fairly productive day. We spent the first part of the day at the office getting things ready for our English lesson and then helping with more hygiene kits. I was feeling quite good and so I was able to spend at least a couple of hours helping.
There was some excitement as Elder Subandriyo, the Jensens and the Petersens were invited to visit with the First Lady of Indonesia. She wanted to meet them because of all the humanitarian work that the Church has been involved in since the tsunami. It is the first time a Church leader has been invited to visit with anyone that high in the government so it was a great honor.
From the chapel we went to the mission home where we picked up some supplies for the Tangerang missionaries, church magazines for everyone, a flyer for our English class, and other odd and assorted things. I wonder what the couples further away do when they need things like this. While we were there we got to meet all the Zone Leaders who were in for a conference. We said hello to Elder Matiere who seems to at least be somewhat recovered from whatever sent him to the hospital earlier this week.
By the time we started out for Tangerang, I was feeling poorly. I had forgotten to bring any nose spray or DayQuil or anything to help me with my cold. Big mistake. I was able to sleep for some of the trip, which I am sure helped.
District meeting was OK – elder Collins lesson was not the usual quality that we have received from others but he gave it a yeoman’s try. We could add little to the meeting which for once did not focus on the negative things about the area.
Thank goodness for Elded Roper. He was the main reason I made it through English class. Due to the fact that it was pouring rain, the attendance was small. No one who must travel by motorcycle would come out in that kind of weather. So we had only had a couple of handfuls of people – about half of what we usually have. But Agus’ family had fun learning ‘Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree’ and ‘ Do What I Do.’ We reviewed long and short E, time, and did an exercise about what people do.
The drive home was a nightmare – even for Jakarta. We hit a backed up section of the toll road and Sam said – it will take 90 minutes to get to the front. I thought at first he meant home but he meant to go the 5 kilometers to the turnoff. He was wrong – it only took an hour to go those 3 plus a little miles. Thankfully we only had to travel those 5 k and then could get off. The people going the other way had that to go much further before things would open up.
By the time we got home, we were both hammered. Mary went right to bed, while I stayed up just so I would be sure to go to sleep. I spent part of the time reading Elder Ballard’s talk on ‘Being Wise’ from the last conference in Indonesian.