This a flower that I have not seen before and no one could tell us what it was called. Sam only knows what a rose is, everything else is ‘a flower – like dat.’ This woman collects sticks of wood in the tea plantation to sell and to use.
20 May 2007 – Sunday
It is our early Sunday so we do not have time – or perhaps it would be better to say we do not make time – to read from the Kitab Mormon. I do take some time to study vocabulary.
The best part of going to church is meeting the members. I still can not remember many of their names, but I keep trying. I hope to learn at least one person’s name each week but it does not always work. Of course I can not remember peoples name in English so it is not a great shock to realize that I can not remember the Indonesian names.
President and Sister Jensen came to our branches so we got to hear the president speak twice and sister Jensen once. He does very well speaking and for the most part we could basically understand what he said. I still do not hear the native speakers well enough to know what they are saying – more individual words are becoming clear but not enough to follow a talk even when I know what it is about. But while it can be a little discouraging, I am not discouraged. Only more determined to learn the language. In fact after seeing president Jensen carry on conversations with the members, I am more determined than ever to become at least adequate in the language.
We went into the Gospel Principles class and Elder Smith taught. He is struggling with the language and I was glad that the president came in for the last half of his lesson so he could listen to him. Right after the class, the president interviewed him and his companion Elder Widodoe. Since missionaries are not supposed to be left alone, I stayed outside with one while the president interviewed the other. Elder Smith got a much longer interview. It was interesting trying to communicate with Elder Widodoe – his English is not very good but it is a lot better than my Indonesian – even simple ideas were almost impossible to be discussed.
Once back home, we ate some lunch and then took a nap. After our naps we read an hour from the Kitab Mormon. Later we read for another hour so we caught up for the day. We are reading where Alma is telling his son about the experience of his repentance. The vividness of his story shows how it was etched into his soul. He uses the story as Paul does to emphasis the fact that the Lord will forgive almost any sin – he likens his rebellion against God as murdering those who believed his anti-church campaign – if people truly repent and then spend the rest of their lives serving others.
They have huge Koi here – these were at the hotel we stayed at for Couples’ Conference. The next is a shot of my garden – slightly smaller than the one at home. Another different motorcycle load. They cut the grass and then take it home to feed their animals. At least if this one fell over, nothing much would be damaged.
19 May 2007 – Saturday
It is going to be a long day – I woke at 3:30 and Mary at 4:15. I could not get the English program out of my head long enough to fall back to sleep. I am not sure what was Mary’s problem. Her eye looks about the same except for some reason this morning the eyelid is quite red. It does not hurt, it only looks a little strange.
I spent much of the morning studying Indonesian. If we get nothing else from this mission, we are going to be able to read Indonesian fairly well. Hopefully we will also be able to communicate. Today was a good day – I managed to remember most of the vocabulary I learned yesterday. We read from the Kitab Mormon and found that a section of a verse is completely left out of the Indonesian version. Mary thinks it is because it was translated before the new scriptures came out with some corrections.
We had a normal Saturday at the office – that is no one came in and so we took the time to write and study. Mary did have a diversion when a sister came in to have a piano lesson. She is a real beginner so she has a lot to learn. I wrote to Elder Subandriyo about the Intensive English Class and the Mushroom project. Hopefully we will move ahead with the first and later the second. Mary started a long letter to be sent to our family and friends. We read from the Kitab Mormon for an hour. Alma and Amulek teaching the Zoramites.
When 2 came around we were ready to head home. The rest of Saturday was very quiet. We studied some – another hour from Kitab Mormon – and Mary finished her letter. Before we knew it, it was time for bed.
One thing that is very positive for me is that I feel that my prayers are drawing me closer to God and Christ. Whenever I feel a need to talk to my Father in Heaven I just stop and let my prayer run through my mind and I feel His presence. It is wonderful feeling to sense that God and Christ are so close and ready to hear my voice asking for their help. I think this is such a special time in our lives – to be here in Indonesia serving Them by serving the people of Indonesia. It is a shame that more couples are not taking this great opportunity to do so much good. I am already looking forward to doing it again for as long as our health allows us to serve. I know why Ron and Anne Jamison and other go home for just long enough to re-connect with their children and grand children and then go out again.